


I Lowered My Sword When You Held Me and Swore (You’d Stay, Stay, Stay)

by Methoxyethane



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alpha Sokka, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Bottom Zuko (Avatar), Fluff, Heatfic, Knotting, M/M, Mating Bites, Mpreg, Omega Zuko
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2020-06-11 19:13:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 22,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19547005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Methoxyethane/pseuds/Methoxyethane
Summary: Sokka comes to a visit to the Fire Nation when Zuko is going into heat. Within all the sexual tension, some decisions have to be made.Part Two: Zuko is afraid of being left alone. Until he isn't anymore.





	1. Chapter 1

Sokka had, without any shadow of a doubt, severely missed Zuko while the prince was stuck in the Fire Nation.

When Sokka arrived at the palace in the Fire Nation’s capital, it had been at least half a year since he’d found the time to visit. It was only a few years after the war and Sokka was still in the earliest stages of his twenties, but the Southern Water Tribe had a lot of rebuilding to do and Sokka had found himself incredibly busy up until recently, and had only found an excuse to visit his old friend now.

It was fun and fulfilling work, but he could really use a break. It had been so much work that it had cost him his relationship with Suki ages ago in fact, and Sokka was thinking a nice vacation in a warm place with good friend was exactly what he needed. 

The breakup with Suki had been one of the first things they talked about, that evening when Zuko finally had the time to sit down and share a drink with Sokka. It was the most interesting news to catch up on, after all - right after why exactly, Zuko had broken up with his beta girlfriend Mai. Which had happened an even longer time ago than Sokka’s own split had, but as of yet remained a subject Zuko had refused to expand on.

“We were… incompatible,” Zuko said with a red flush creeping down his pale neck. “It just took us a while to figure out that it was enough of a problem that we couldn't get over it. That’s all there was to it.”

“You mean like, sexually incompatible, right?” Sokka said, deciding it was safer not to try and imagine the beta and omega trying to go at it. They were only one drink into dinner after all, not enough of an excuse to get all inappropriate, even in his head. Even if the mental image was hot as hell.

“I didn’t say that!” Zuko snapped at him, managing to avoid eye contact while he yelled. “I just said we weren’t compatible, that means a lot of things didn’t work.”

The sex included, Sokka decided without saying it. “Yeah, I can see how you didn’t fit. I always figured you two were two alike in all the worst ways to last long.”

Zuko scowled at him, at Sokka noticed his scent was flaring up with more abandon than Zuko’s usual self control would allow. “Worst ways? What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“I just mean you two were both too gloomy and temperamental, that’s all.” Sokka watched Zuko snort. “It’s not a bad thing! If anything, your gloomy temper is one of your most charming qualities.” 

“I’ll pretend that’s a compliment,” Zuko drawled, taking another drink. He sighed, rubbing at the back of his neck a little. 

“It is,” Sokka reassured. No need to actually talk about his bravery or strength or loyalty or honor or any of his actual good qualities. Not out loud, anyway. 

The truth was, Sokka was already a little overly attached to Zuko. He knew it was probably just because Sokka was an alpha and Zuko was the only omega he knew that wasn’t his sister, so Sokka tried not to think about Zuko very often while they were apart but… it was surprisingly difficult to forget about the firebender under even the most distracting of circumstances.

“Whatever. If I’m gloomy and temperamental, you’re impulsive and overbearing.” Zuko said, rubbing at his forehead.

“Why thank you,” Sokka said earnestly, eyes still on his friend as he pinched at his temples.

“Are, uh… You okay there, buddy?” Sokka asked, watching as Zuko finally glanced up to meet his eyes. “You’re looking kind of…”

Zuko shook his head, sitting upright. “I’m fine,” he denied. “Just a little overheated.”

That seemed like an odd thing for a firebender to get, but it did just kind of seem like he was wiping sweat from his brow, so maybe it was true. His scent didn’t seem sick at all either, as far as Sokka’s alpha senses were concerned, he just smelled a little stronger than usual, and that could have just been because of the sweat.

Still, being friends with Zuko got particularly awkward when Sokka could really smell him like this. For someone as happily pansexual as Sokka was Zuko’s looks were already dangerous enough, and that sweet gingery smell was downright deadly. It didn’t help how cute it was when Zuko got all awkward and/or confused, which was surprisingly often for a world leader.

Sokka had just been single for too long. Zuko was now and always had been off limits for any kind of pining over, for a multitude of reasons. Zuko was a serious person who did things with his entire heart, which meant even the lightest of flirting was totally off-limits.

“Tell me about how the Water Tribes are doing,” Zuko said, changing the subject. “Aang has been helping me here with the Fire Nation, but I haven’t heard from you or Katara in a lifetime.”

“It’s all boring is why,” Sokka told him, still keeping an eye on Zuko now while they shared their meal. “We’ve opened trade back up, and with the support of the Fire Nation’s reparation funds we’ve had a huge baby boom. After the war like, all the wives got pregnant at once, so now we have about half a dozen babies along with the kids that already made up most of the tribe to start with. Just… babies everywhere.”

Zuko laughed, a rare sound that Sokka had always loved hearing. Zuko was rarely relaxed and happy enough to let such a sound loose, and so the times he was this loose had to be appreciated. “I’m glad the money’s been doing good. Makes it worth all the hell I’ve been getting over it.”

He wiped the sweat from his neck again, letting out a short sigh as he loosened the collars of his robes to let some air onto his neck. It made the hairs on the ends of Sokka’s own neck stand on end, a small explosion of scent wafting out where Zuko was fanning himself with his own collar.

Wait a minute…

“You aren’t like, going into heat are you?” 

Zuko shot him a glare. “That’s a little rude to ask, isn’t it?”

Sokka rolled his eyes, scooting a little farther away from Zuko to try and avoid the constant nosefulls of sweet-hot omega hormones. “I’m just saying, if I came at a bad time we can put this little vacation of mine off. I can just get out of here until-“

“No,” Zuko snapped, eyes going wide. “You just got here, and I haven’t seen you in… The heat isn’t important. I work through them all the time, and I need to work through this one too.”

“Yeah but,” Sokka sort of gestured to himself. “I’m an alpha. Isn’t that like, a little awkward? You don’t really want me to stay do you?”

“I do,” Zuko said seriously. “Ever since Mai left the only person around the palace I actually like spending time with is Uncle Iroh. That’s one person, Sokka. I only like one person in my life and he’s the most boring person to ever live. Don’t make me ask you to stay.”

This… sounded like a monumentally bad idea. “Well. It’s not like we’re still all sleeping together in one big pile on Appa anymore,” Sokka reasoned. “You’ll go to your room when you need to, right?”

Zuko scoffed. “Just trust me. I’ve been an omega longer than you’ve been alive,” which seemed like an unnecessarily pretentious way of saying he was a bit older than Sokka. “I know how to deal with a heat by now. I promise I won’t let it bother you.”

‘Bother him,’ yeah. That was one way of putting what Sokka was worried about.

—

Zuko went to bed early for obvious reasons, and Sokka hadn’t had much reason to try and stay up late by himself. Not when he was already preoccupied by the thought of Zuko’s impending heat, staying up wasn’t even a good idea.

It meant he got an early day the next day, but that was fine. He had a quick breakfast with Zuko before the Firelord was off to work with the council, obviously taking whatever kind of… breaks he needed to during the work day. 

Sokka himself did what he’d been planning on asking Zuko to do with him today, and he went out of the palace to see the town.

It was a nice change, to see the Fire Nation out of war time. It was nice to see everywhere out of wartime, but the Fire Nation specifically had a particular air of jovial freedom that they seemed to be enjoying out from under Ozai’s oppressive reign. 

There were more kids actually out playing in the streets now, Sokka noticed with delight. More fathers returned home from war, more mothers pregnant with children, more people out crowding the streets happily making commerce. 

At least, it seemed that way on the surface. But as Sokka spent more and more of the day out in the world talking to the people of the Fire Nation, he found… a bit of unrest.

Not as many men were returned from war as the other nations, and it didn’t take long to figure out why. Zuko’s war reparations meant there were still soldiers out helping to rebuild the other countries that the Fire Nation had destroyed during the war, and it was good work that helped their reputation with the rest of the world, but… 

There was still unease back home in the Fire Nation about it. The war was over and people wanted it to BE over, didn’t want to be reminded of debts they had to pay for a war they had been born into without asking.

Maybe he’d talk to Zuko about it when he saw him again later tonight. He wasn’t sure what to say yet, but there was bound to be a conversation out of it.

When Sokka got back to the palace, it didn’t take long before he saw his wayward friend. Zuko was storming out of the conference room tearing off layers of his robes as he went, shouting “Why is it so god forsaken HOT in here?! Are we living in Hell for fuck’s sake?! Someone turn down all of those god damned fires!”

Sokka laughed, watching the trail of clothing scatter across the floor as Zuko stomped off to his room. He got out much sooner that expected, changed into the lighter clothing of a civilian and swiping a hand through his damp hair what must have been enough times now to start mussing up his bun and letting his bangs hang loose into his face.

“What time is it?” Zuko asked, looking flushed and overheated and smelling like a firestorm of pheromones that took Sokka aback when Zuko got a little bit too close. “You know what, I don’t care. I’m hungry, so it’s dinner time.”

Sokka laughed again, joining the prince and his uncle for the impromptu meal with cheer and only minor trepidation. It was just the first day of Zuko’s heat, how bad could it really be?

It was… pretty bad, once they all sat down to eat together. Sokka didn't know if it he was grateful for Iroh’s presence or if it was the bane of his very existence right now, but he was the only thing stopping this from being a meal shared by a lone unmarked alpha and an omega in heat. Which, it still was that, but it was ALSO all of that plus that very omega’s beta uncle, who seemed to be there just to make everything feel about ten times more awkward.

Which was a good thing, probably. If Sokka hadn’t been concentrating on NOT staring at Zuko right in front of his uncle, he’d have instead have been possessed by that scent for the entire meal, and lord knows what the consequences for that were.

With his hair mussed up and his face all flushed and sweaty he looked like a damned snack, looking damn near as tempting as he smelled. Sokka had been around omegas in heat before but none that weren’t in his tribe and whom he felt directly related to, and he’d had no idea that they could be distracting when they weren’t doing anything at all.

Not distracting enough to make Sokka act like a lesser alpha and touch him or anything but. Goddamn him if it wasn’t so easy to fantasize about licking the sweat off Zuko’s neck right now. Easier to concentrate on that thought than anything else that crossed his mind the entire meal.

“I think you need a break, Zuko,” Iroh was saying, looking at his nephew with a critical eye. “You have not taken one yet all day, surely your body must need the rest.”

So much for Zuko having been taking care of himself. No wonder he smelled like an explosion, Sokka could probably smell the entire afternoon’s worth of slick still lingering on his skin. “Yeah dude, not in an offensive way or anything, but I haven’t been able to smell any of the food on this table over the smell of…  _ you _ this entire time. A bath is… would be doing me a personal favor, a little bit.”

Zuko grumbled something dismissive out, but stood up nonetheless. “You alphas are just weak. I’m the one who has to actually put up with my body this whole week, If I can work through it so can you.”

Which was super true, but. “You still need to rest sometimes, Zuko.”

The Firelord rolled his eyes, but he was already on his way to the baths without a retort. 

He was gone for a half hour or more, bt when he got back he was still wearing the same sweat-stained civvies he had been wearing before, like he had run out of clothes already after one day of his heat. Maybe the rest were busy making up his nest right now.

Either way he looked and smelled a hundred times… Sokka was going to say better there but he had never looked or smelled BAD in the first place. That was kind of the exact problem in fact. Either way he smelled closer to a normal human being and looked more refreshed too, leading Sokka’s imagination to supply all kinds of things he could have been doing in that bathtub by himself for so long.

Sokka didn’t let the thought take anchor in his mind. “Were you gonna get changed, or just keep wearing your dirty laundry all day?” He asked instead, letting himself be a little rude for the sake of getting Zuko into clean clothes.

Zuko grunted unhappily. “It’s too hot. All my other clothes are too hot. Layers and layers of huge damned robes, I can’t stand it.”

Ever or just right now, Sokka wondered. He shrugged, and since it was only late afternoon and there was still time, offered “Why don’t we go shopping, then? For lighter clothes for you. This is the Fire Nation after all, you guys have gotta have clothing to deal with this heat. I remember wearing some myself.”

Zuko thought for a moment. “En Zhu,” he said, turning to one of the ubiquitous guards standing by one of the doorways. “I’m going out into town. Tell the other guards I’m not to be followed.”

En Zhu blinked at him, the first hint of expression Sokka had seen from any of the palace guards. “Um, no disrespect sir,” he stuttered out uneasily, looking at Zuko. “But isn’t now the exact time when you’d need a guard most?”

That sounded like an accurate fact to Sokka personally. “Does he have a point?”

Zuko shook his head, and surprisingly, reached up to pull the pretty hair thingy out that was holding his bun in place, hair cascading down into a fluff sound his shoulders. “No. It would look ridiculous for the Firelord to go out while he’s in the middle of a heat spell. I’d rather draw as little attention to myself as possible, just get some clothes and get back home without trouble.”

He had a point. Being an omega AND the Firelord was already unprecedented enough, and going out in such a vulnerable state just to go shopping would probably make him look bad. Sokka maybe should have thought of that before he offered. 

“So much for a night out on the town,” he joked, and the guard looked uneasier than ever.

“Can’t we even send one quiet guard to tail you from a distance? You’ll be… you’re…” He trailed off, unable to form the words ‘in heat’ to his own lord.

“It’s fine,” Zuko said, pulling half of this hair back out of his face and letting his bangs cover his ever-recognizable scarred left eye. “I’ve got Sokka with me.”

The guard looked between the two of them, clearly worried about exactly that.

Sokka shrugged at him cheerfully. It was true after all. Between the two of them, no matter what happened Zuko was going to be safe.

That having been said, it put the weight of responsibility squarely on Sokka’s shoulders, and he could feel it. As they walked into town Zuko drew people’s eyes to him, if not because he was close enough to smell that it was him who was in heat but just because he was tall and gorgeous and his hair flowed like silk, and someone that naturally beautiful just drew people’s attention.

And then they got close enough to smell that he was an omega in heat, and well. Let’s just say Sokka was sticking close to Zuko, and had to keep a low growl ready in his throat the entire trip into town. 

They finally got to a clothes merchant, and then Sokka realized that this was the part where he got to watch Zuko trying on all kinds of different skimpy - that is, lightweight clothing and asking Sokka’s opinion on every one. 

He looked good in all of them, obviously. Also obviously Sokka couldn’t say as much, and could only nod or give a basic thumbs up in approval, all while secretly dying inside as he watched Zuko change into every new sexy outfit that showed off more and more skin. 

He picked four outfits out of it, naturally all in shades of deep red. “Here, let me pay for it,” Sokka offered. “We’re trying not to draw attention to you, right?” 

Zuko looked like he was about to argue, but immediately relented, a blush spreading across what Sokka could see of his pretty face like Sokka was buying presents just for him. Which he kind of was, paying for his clothes and all. 

Sokka turned to the clerk, taking the clothes from Zuko and showing them to the merchant with a grin. “Hey there, sir. Just picking up a few things for my omega here.” Out of the corner of his he saw Zuko nearly trip over nothing. “How’s business going these days?”

As he’d expected, the merchant didn’t so much as glance at Zuko after the words ‘my omega’ had slipped out of Sokka’s mouth, which is you know. Why he’d said that. Instead he kept his eyes on the alpha actually making the purchase, smiling at Sokka and sighing “Ah, you know how it is. As good as things could be going with those reparations dragging everyone in the country down.”

Sokka frowned at that, and he glanced over to see Zuko visibly sulking. “Yeah, at least it’s still better than wartime business, right?”

The clerk laughed, taking handing Sokka the change he was owed so the two of them could get out of there.

The smell of Zuko’s heat was getting stronger again, and the flush from the store hadn’t receded from his pale face even as they left. He didn’t look like he was suffering otherwise but his scent was strong enough to attract people to start staring at them as they walked past, alpha and omega alike wondering what an omega in heat was doing out and about.

Sokka kept his eyes and ears open, figuring it was alright as long as no one tried to approach. And when one stray alpha licked his lips and stepped forward as if he was about to come approach Zuko, Sokka glared him down and slipped a possessive arm around Zuko’s shoulders as they walked. 

Zuko, curiously, did nothing but glance at Sokka, allowing the weight of his arm around his shoulders to remixing on the entire walk home, never once making a comment or attempting to shrug Sokka off of him.

When they got back Zuko only stopped to change into one of his new outfits briefly before rejoining Sokka, his hair still down around his shoulders as Sokka supposed it would remain for the rest of the night. 

It was already evening, and the two of them sat down for a game of pai sho they could largely ignore while they talked over it. 

Sokka won easily, since he had an edge over Zuko on concentration. Only a slight edge, granted, but once again Sokka wasn’t the one actually going into heat here, no matter how detrimental he found said heat to his health it was still going to be worse for Zuko. 

And the later the evening went on, the more obvious that became. Sokka watched as Zuko started sweating and twitching again, moving the long hair off of his neck to wipe the sweat off, and drawing Sokka’s attention all up over that delicate throat for so long Sokka lost trail of the conversation they’d been in to just… stare for a minute.

Zuko was starting to breathe heavier too, loosening the already open collar of his shirt to reveal half of his sculpted chest in the process. “I think…” he said, voice weak, “I think I need to go back to my room now.”

“Should I walk you back?” Sokka offered without thinking, standing up and offering Zuko a hand.

Zuko didn’t even nod, didn’t even look at Sokka. Just took his hand and let him help him out of his seat, leading the way back to his rooms.

It was hard to ignore the spark of electricity he felt when the two of them touched hands, a surge of heat flowing from Zuko into him and heating him up from the inside out with a need to increase the mount of skin on skin contact as soon and as much as possible. He let go of Zuko’s hand quickly.

The guard gave Sokka a warning sort of look on their way out of the room, and Sokka finally realized how it must have looked from an outsider’s perspective. Oh god, should he like, explain he was literally only walking Zuko to his room and not following him inside? No, that was… this was fine. He’d just walk him back to his room and then leave and then it would be over.

The palace was big enough that it took a few minutes to reach Zuko’s personal quarters, and Sokka tried not to spend it in silence but… there wasn’t much to say. ‘Hey good luck with your heat I’mma go try not to think about you or touch myself for the rest of the night?’ Haha. Yeah, this was so weird.

It was still so strange that Zuko even wanted to hang with him right now. He was in heat and Sokka was an alpha, his presence had to be making things worse instead of better, right? Was the time they had been apart really so long it was worth putting up with their clashing pheromones?

“Well,” Zuko said when they reached a huge ornate pair of doors. “This is me.”

“Yeah,” Sokka agreed. “Looks like we’re here.” 

They both hesitated awkwardly, Sokka feeling like there was something he was supposed to be doing right now but couldn’t figure out. 

“Thank you,” Zuko said eventually, avoiding eye contact shyly. “I um… yeah. Thanks.”

Sokka nodded. “Yeah it’s um, no problem at all,” he answered, not even sure what he was being thanked for.

“Yeah, then uh. Goodnight,” Zuko fumbled for the door, Sokka giving him an awkward little salute off.

Zuko slipped inside and the door closed behind him, leaving Sokka alone. Well, relatively alone, the presence of a guard situated outside of Zuko’s door being something of a permanent position. Which means that there was no reason for Sokka to stick around, nothing to protect Zuko from when Sokka could smell that the guard was another beta and surely posed no threat to his safety.

Sokka still lingered around the door for another few minutes before he finally left, not sure why himself he felt so compelled to stay.

The heat must be getting to him.

—

It was well into the next day before he saw Zuko again. Sometime in the late afternoon he caught Zuko storming out of the councilroom again, fire blasting out of his throat as he yelled at the members of the council on the way out into the halls.

“-If you people would stop treating me like a child and let me make my own decisions, maybe we could get things done!” He was growling at them, an omega in the full thralls of his fury.

When he saw Sokka his expression immediately changed, his scent calming down into something less furious like just Sokka’s presence was enough to soothe him in his heated state.

Heated both figurative and literal right now, as the case may be. “Oh good, it’s you,” Zuko said with surprising sincerity, stomping up to Sokka. “Spar with me. I need to let off steam and no one else around here is good for a fight.”

Or willing to risk harming their omega Firelord when he was out of his right mind with hormones. But Sokka shrugged and pulled out his short sword from where it rested on his lower back, spinning it around in his hand and answering, “Just lead the way.”

They didn’t even bother going out to a courtyard. There was one specific room with a view of the lake that Zuko seemed to prefer hanging out with Sokka in, and it was there they once again went for their sparring match. 

Zuko usually pulled out his swords when the two of them sparred, forgoing bending in favor of putting them on an even playing field. This time he bypassed them all together, getting into a firebending stance while Sokka prepared himself for the match to start.

He glanced over at the doors, where one guard was standing by and watching intently should something go wrong. There really was nowhere in the palace they could go without being watched, was there? Well. Maybe that was for the best right now, anyway.

Zuko made the first move, an elegant step of footwork that came with a wave of fire fanning out at Sokka across the floor. He jumped up out of the way to avoid his ankles being burned, drawing his boomerang and sending it flying towards Zuko faster than the eye could see.

Zuko dodged out of the way, keeping his eye on the boomerang’s return home to Sokka’s hand as he palmed forth another shot of fire. By this time in his life Sokka was an expert at dodging bending attacks of most any kind, and he spun out of the way of the fire in time to slide his way forward in range of a sword attack.

Zuko was already breathing heavily, panting out steam and movements only half as fast as they should be. He dodged the sword attack probably only because Sokka himself wasn’t trying to actually hit Zuko, stumbling backwards.

Sokka attacked again, and this time Zuko’s dodge slipped him up and sent him to the floor. Sokka was close enough for Zuko to grab at on the way down, and the fight ended with Sokka pinning Zuko to the floor.

They caught each other's eyes, and the entire world halted. Sokka didn’t even have enough brain power to think that sparing had been a bad idea after all, too busy caught up in the glow of Zuko’s golden eyes. 

And in his scent. He smelled hot and sweet like ginger cookies baking in an oven, luring Sokka in with the promise of tasting it off of his very skin. He smelled like he wanted it, like there was nowhere he’d rather be right now than pinned underneath Sokka and completely at his mercy. Even Zuko’s eyes were going unfocused with lust, and Sokka could smell the combination of sweat and slick leaking out of Zuko from between his thighs.

Sokka had never been so hard before in his life.

Somewhere out of eyesight someone coughed, and then coughed again much louder. Sokka blinked, suddenly aware of where he was and who he was with again, scrambling off of Zuko’s body and as far away as he could get in just about three seconds. 

“Sorry,” Sokka apologized, rubbing the back of his own neck and pointedly not making eye contact with Zuko. “That was… probably not as helpful as it was. The opposite of helpful.”

Zuko sat up slowly, and Sokka tried not to watch him as he blushed and nodded. “I need to… I’m going to my room.”

This time, Sokka knew better than to try and follow. Every inch of his body wanted to anyway.

—

Zuko spent most of the next day in his room.

He came out for meals and long enough to have one meeting with the council, but otherwise went back into hiding as soon as he had the ability to again. 

It was nerve wracking, made Sokka think about what he could be doing in his room all day. Probably naked all wrapped up in bedsheets only so he could feel the cool silk against his sweaty skin, either sleeping to conserve his energy or with his hands all over his own body, chasing relief from the heat in his pleasure…

Not that Sokka was obsessing over Zuko or anything. He’d just never been this close to an omega in heat before, and it was really messing with his head.

It was really too bad they couldn’t just… fool around a little to take the edge off. They’d both feel a lot better if they could. But Zuko wasn’t the kind of person you could just play with and then leave, he was someone who did everything all the way, someone who deserved dedication. 

Sokka was realizing now that he wished he had the time to dedicate himself to Zuko like that, to become his alpha for real. But he had work to do for his people just the same as Zuko worked hard every day for his, and there was little time in between they’d be able to meet. 

Fucking around with him was a nice dream, but staying by Zuko’s side forever was an ever nicer one. Sometimes Sokka thought that maybe it was possible, maybe they’d be able to make things work long distance but… that had been what had torn him and Suki apart, and he didn’t want to have that kind of breakup with Zuko.

Being with Zuko just wasn’t an option, no matter how sexy and beautiful and alluring he was. Sokka really had to get it out of his mind.

When Zuko finally re-emerged from his bedroom after spending most of the day holed up in there, he looked worse for the wear. And smelled it, too, reeking of sweat and slick and everything else in this world that was debauched and good and thoroughly distracting to Sokka’s alpha senses.

One would think that he’d overdose on Zuko’s scent, maybe start getting used to being in its presence, but. God, he really wasn’t. Not at all. Every minute was as bad as the first, a miasma of the most arousing scent imaginable flooding his senses every second Zuko was around. Sweet heavenly torture.

“I need air,” Zuko was scowling again, fierce and beautiful as the fires he controlled. “I’m going for a walk.”

“Cool,” Sokka said following lightly behind, not wanting to leave Zuko alone when he was this riled up. Or maybe just drawn in by his fiery scent and unable to do anything BUT follow. “I’ll come with.”

He followed the firebender out of the palace, still staying on royal property as they wound up wandering into a garden that most of the windows in the higher floors overlooked. To spite that it managed to be a surprisingly secluded area, the trees and shrubberies providing coverage from above so that no one casually spying would be able to tell who was down there or what was going on.

There was a huge pond in the middle of it all, and on a bridge halfway over it is where Zuko finally stopped.

“It’s hot,” Zuko said finally, after a few long minutes of staring into the water together. 

“I mean,” Sokka shrugged. “This is the Fire Nation. Long acknowledged to be the hottest place on the planet.”

Zuko glared at him. They both knew what he really meant.

“Sorry,” Sokka apologized dumbly, eyes still on Zuko instead of the water.

Zuko huffed out an annoyed sigh, glaring back into the water of the pond again. Quietly, a turtleduck floated past.

“Fuck this,” Zuko said finally, pushing back away from the bridge railing he’d been leaning against to paw at the fasteners of his shirt. Sokka nearly fell off the bridge in surprise as he watched Zuko peel his shirt off of his sweat-soaked skin, dropping it to the wooden floor of the bridge before he untied and dropped his pants next.

Dressed only in black underwear, Zuko climbed up over the railing and jumped into the water with a small splash.

Being in the middle of the pond, the water was deep enough that it went up to his collarbone when he stood back up again, nearly to his neck. His long hair floated in the water around his shoulders lightly, and Zuko swept the rest that had come unbound out of his face with a smooth swipe of one hand he looked expectantly back up at Sokka.

Well fuck this shit. Sokka scrambled out of his own clothes faster than he ever had in his life, leaping into the waters after Zuko in a few scant seconds.

Zuko smiled at him, one of those subtle barely-there smiles you had to watch for to catch properly. Here in the waters his powerful heat scent was finally washed halfway away, leaving both of their heads clearer than they’d been all week.

Well, mostly. Even with only half of that hypnotic scent luring him in Zuko was still a sweet trap that drew the rest of Sokka’s senses all to him. His voice was thick smokey honey when he laughed, his body was built strong and slim and sexy and now currently soaking wet, and as for taste and touch… God how Sokka wished he was allowed to find out.

Anyway, back in real time where Zuko wasn’t paying any attention to how much Sokka was pining over him, so he was instead kicking at Sokka’s ankles so he could unbalance him enough to shove over and knock him back into the water with a playful smirk.

Sokka went down with a splash, but if it was a fight Zuko had wanted he’d started it with the wrong person in the wrong place. Sokka had spent half his life in the snow and the other half in the water, and he could swim fast enough and quietly enough to sneak up behind Zuko and dunk him down into the water with a single hard push on his shoulders.

Zuko flailed and popped back up in half a second, laughing and brushing his hair out of his face again and generally being too goddamned beautiful. Instead of trying to trip or dunk Sokka again this time his attack was in the form of one broad sweep of his arm, sending a huge wave of water splashing right into Sokka’s face.

Sokka laughed, then outright bodily tackled him, barreling them both into the water at once. When they resurfaced they were both laughing, and Sokka’s arms were still wrapped around Zuko’s waist.

He didn’t let his arms drop. He knew he should, but… He’d never gotten a chance in his life to hold Zuko like this, and now here he was doing it on accident. Zuko’s waist was naked under his hands, their chests close enough to just barely not be touching one another. He could feel Zuko’s body heat, radiating off of him, and when he looked into Zuko’s eye Zuko was staring straight back into Sokka’s.

Neither of them looked away. Neither of them backed away. From this close, Sokka realized he’d finally gotten a little taller than Zuko, because he had to look just the slightest bit downward to make eye contact for so long.

Zuko’s eyes darted downward, just a fraction like his eyes were only dropping as far as Sokka’s lips. Sokka watched as Zuko’s own lips parted a tiny bit, tiny pink tongue darting out to lick his own lips before it was gone again.

For the record, Sokka wasn’t the one who had leaned in first. He was like eighty percent sure it had been Zuko who had let his eyes slip closed, Zuko who had tilted his head expectantly like Sokka was supposed to know exactly what to do in this situation.

He did the only thing he could bear to do. His hands tightened their grip around Zuko’s wet torso, closing his own eyes as he leaned forward to steal Zuko’s mouth in a kiss. 

He tasted even better than he smelled. 

Zuko’s arms wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him in close. The kiss was surprisingly gentle and chaste for all the heat that had been building up between them lately, Zuko only parting his lips to let Sokka gently nip at his tongue after a few long moments of simply pressing their lips together.

Zuko was once again the one to escalate it as well, pushing his tongue into Sokka’s mouth to rub their tongues together, tasting the insides of Sokka’s mouth with reckless abandon. Sokka returned the fervor, sucking on Zuko’s tongue and swallowing up the moan that poured from Zuko’s throat into his own.

The sound Zuko had just made sent chills down Sokka’s spine, riled up all of his alpha instincts to please. Made him want to pull more sounds like that out of Zuko, more throaty moans and gentle sighs all the way until they turned into chirps and whines of pleasure. He wanted to take Zuko, pull his mostly naked body close to Sokka’s and rub them together until they both came, hot and delicious right there in the water.

Zuko pressed his body closer, impossibly close. So close he could feel the hard length of Zuko’s erect cock pressing into his hip, and Sokka’s hairs stood up on their ends and his own cock throbbed in his too-tight shorts with the suddenness of his  _ wanting _ .

He could probably have him, too. Right there in the waters. Sokka could smell the desire rolling off of Zuko in waves, could smell his slick even through the thick waters trying to wash away any trace of his scent. He could have him, because Zuko was in heat, and that’s also why Sokka needed to stop this. Right. Fucking. Now.

Sokka pulled away with a gasp, hands still on Zuko’s shoulders as he stepped away from the firebender gently steaming in the water of the pond. Zuko blinked up at him in confusion, tried to step closer once more, but Sokka used the tip he had on his shoulders to hold him at bay. 

“Can’t,” Sokka panted, not realizing how worked up he himself had gotten until he found himself out of breath. “We can’t do this, we’ve gotta stop.”

“Why?” Zuko’s word was somewhere in between a pout and a growl, coming thick from low in his throat. 

“You’re in heat.” Sokka shook his head, finally letting go of Zuko’s shoulders and wading away. “Sorry, Zuko, let’s just… put this on pause until I’ve cleared my head a little.”

Zuko looked annoyed, like he didn’t understand why his being in heat was a reason to stop. But he didn’t pursue Sokka any further, just stormed his fine ass out of the water and threw his clothes back on in angry tugs.

Sokka would like to say he didn’t watch his ass as he left, but. That would be a lie.

—

After each of them jacked off in their respective rooms, or at least Sokka was reasonably certain that’s what both of them spent the rest of the afternoon doing, they didn’t see each other again until dinner. Zuko didn’t seem annoyed at the rejection anymore after that, presumably after clearing his own head and realizing himself what a bad idea it would have been for them to continue.

Like seriously, even if there was no heat involved they’d been outside in plain view. Not a very appropriate place to debauch the Firelord.

But Gods, Sokka could just not stop thinking about that kiss. Not just how hot it had been, or much he wanted more. No, Sokka was caught up in a different train of thought entirely.

Zuko had initiated it. Zuko wanted him, at least some small part of him, at least in his heat, and the thought was driving Sokka absolutely mad. 

What did it mean? Did he want more than just a casual fling? If he did, then why had he been so insistent that Sokka stay, even before his heat had began and he’d still been completely coherent? Had he just been planning on using Sokka while he was here?

No, of course not. Zuko would never be so underhanded as to neglect telling Sokka this, if he’d wanted a heat partner he’d have just asked for one. And at this point he STILL hadn’t asked for any help with his heat, so maybe…

Maybe Zuko had gotten caught up in the moment because he liked Sokka. Just. Liked him, the way an omega liked an alpha they were compatible with. Maybe that kiss had been something Zuko wanted when he was out of his heat, too.

The fact that Sokka just didn’t know was torturous. If it was something Zuko really wanted, maybe there was someway Sokka could really be with him… But it’s not like there was any way to ask. He just had to wait for Zuko’s heat to end and see what happened afterwards.

Dinner was fine, except that Sokka noticed Zuko starting to drink earlier in the evening than Sokka had ever seen. It just meant that by the time dinner was over and they were alone again Zuko was a little bit on the tipsy side and Sokka had to start drinking now to catch up with him.

They made a pretty good time of it, actually. Both of them were too busy with responsibilities to have the ability to have a drink more than once in a blue moon, and it was fun sharing that now with Zuko.

At least, it had started out fun. They had been chatting easily for the first hour or two of the night, catching up on old times and good times and bad times alike. But once they ran out of old news to chat about all that left was current events, and that was when things got a little heated.

“Everyone in the entire council is arguing about money,” Zuko said, “And it just doesn’t matter what I suggest or what I try to do, because no matter what I’m always wrong. Every decision I make as Firelord finds some way to bite me in the ass, and I just…”

Sokka scooted closer, lured in by the sour tang that darkened Zuko’s scent with his bad mood. “I get it, buddy, I really do. Being a leader is hard, and I only get the overspill of it that my dad can’t handle by himself. I can’t even imagine how hard it’s been for you.”

“Well,” Zuko said glumly. “I still have Uncle to advise me when I’m uncertain, and he’s the best support I could ever hope for. But I can’t come to him with everything, not when he intentionally turned down the crown twice because he wanted to rule so little. It would just be cruel of me to keep burdening him.”

That was a really good point. The entire Water Tribe all worked together because there were still so few of them, but the Fire Nation had never had the losses of life on that scale, and still had a huge populous and a relatively working government Zuko needed to stay in the confines of. He was one man ruling a huge number of people, all the decisions made all by himself.

“That sucks, man. I’m so used to having my whole family backing me up on anything, I can’t even imagine what it’s like to need to do everything on your own like you do.” He shifted in his seat, body unconsciously leaning in towards Zuko. “Maybe as long as I’m here, we could talk about this shit. Maybe there’s something I could do to help, just for a while.”

Zuko smiled at him, beautifully reminding Sokka how drunk both of them were right now. “In one more week? I seriously doubt it.”

“Hey come on, there’s always trying.” Sokka said cheerfully. 

Zuko sighed, and leaned into Sokka’s side. Sokka hadn’t even realized they’d been sitting close enough together for him to be able to do that, but here Zuko was, leaning his weight into Sokka like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Sokkaddn’t know if it was the heat or the liquor or both that made Zuko so…  _ soft _ , but he couldn’t find himself complaining about it. Gods, what the hell was Zuko even doing here? He was in heat for chrissake, what was he doing trusting Sokka enough to get drunk and cuddle into him? He’d NEVER let himself be so vulnerable around another alpha, so why was Sokka getting this special treatment? This insane amount of  _ trust _ ?

There had been a long silence for a while now, and Zuko’s eyes drifted shut. Shit, he’d forgotten that Zuko was a sleepy drunk, wasn’t he? Sokka had to get him back to his room before he fell asleep right there on Sokka. That would be… so many kinds of bad, he was pretty sure. 

“Zuko,” Sokka tried, but Zuko didn’t respond more than a hum. “Zuko, come on, you can’t fall asleep here.” Sokka said again more firmly, arm around Zuko’s shoulder to give him a little shake.

“I hear you, I just don’t care.” Zuko drawled lazily, staying exactly where he was on Sokka’s shoulder. 

“I’m serious, you gotta get up and get back to your room. I’m not going to carry you there just because you’re an omega; you’re still a grown-ass Firelord here.” 

Zuko, if anything, became more petulant about it, rubbing his face into Sokka’s neck and inhaling deeply. “I like it here, though.”

A shiver ran down Sokka’s spine and his pants tightened considerably, desire running through his veins that he knew he couldn’t indulge in like Zuko seemed so determined to do. 

He didn’t want to do it, but he knew what had to be done. Pulling the word from deep in his throat, Sokka commanded a firm “Zuko,” in his best Alpha Voice. “You need to get up.”

Zuko’s eyes shot open, his spine straightening and his head snapping towards Sokka, all the fog cleared from his eyes. “Did you just seriously-?”

Yeah, that had been a mistake. No one ordered around the Firelord, and even the guards were staring at him now. Zuko’s stare turned into a fiery glare, and he stood up like a shot. “Watch how you use that voice of yours, Sokka.” He hissed.

Sokka raised his hands defensively, shaking his head a little in apology. He chose not to defend himself, knowing what an alpha’s commanding voice could do to a vulnerable omega. 

Zuko just huffed out in irritation, glaring down at Sokka. “Whatever. I don’t need to tell you when I’m tired. I’m going back to my room.”

But before he left, he reached down to just behind where Sokka was sitting, grabbing something Sokka had to twist around to see, as he himself had forgotten about it.

“And I’m taking this with me,” Zuko said, pulling Sokka’s discarded blue jacket from the floor he’d left it on.

“W-that’s my - you can’t just take that!”

Zuko defiantly slung the shirt around his shoulders like a scarf, bringing it up to his nose and taking a deep inhale, staring directly into Sokka’s eyes as he did it. “Goodnight, Sokka.”

And with that, he walked out of the room, Sokka gaping after him.

He’d just taken… to his bedroom. Sokka’s clothing. An article of Sokka’s alpha-scented clothing, taken to his bedroom while he was in heat. 

Sokka mind spun.

—

“You seem troubled, my young friend,” Iroh’s deep voice nearly surprised Sokka sneaking up from behind where he was staring down from a balcony. “Care to share what’s on your mind?”

Sokka watched from the corner of his eye as the older man approached, joining Sokka on the balcony. “Not really,” Sokka admitted honestly, thinking of the nature of his problems with Zuko. And that that nature was, you know. Kind of sexual.

Iroh just laughed, and then proceeded to act like Sokka had never rejected his company. “You and my nephew have gotten close lately,” he started slowly, not looking at Sokka. 

“Something like that,” Sokka replied, trying not to think of the time they made out in the pond and failing.

Iroh laughed again, probably because he somehow knew about that. Sokka wouldn’t put it past this man to know every single thing that went on in this entire palace and then some. “He has gone far out of his way to share his company with you this visit. It makes me happy to see him so close to someone at last.”

“Maybe a little too close,” Sokka mumbled under his breath.

It was still loud enough for Iroh to pick up, of course. “Yes, I can see why his presence would get stifling for you. I admit, in all the years since he came of age, Zuko has never spent this much of one of his heats out of his room.”

So Sokka wasn’t going crazy, and it really WAS weird for an omega to spend this much time out of his nest during a heat. He’d seen Katara go through a huge number of heats by now, and for all her strength and determination not to let them get to her, she still had to spend as much of it as possible in whatever nest she could make up for herself. It had displaced the entirety of Team Avatar for days at a time the two times her heat had struck during the war, and Sokka and the others had to spend the majority of that time watching guard to protect her.

“Does he just have really light heats, or…” Sokka started, trailing off in favor of asking if it was his own fault Zuko was spending so much time wandering around out of his bedrooom. 

“I would not be able to say, myself, having never gone through one.” Iroh said. “But this time in particular he has seemed far more coherent than I have ever witnessed. I suspect that’s why he’s had the energy to get so much work done, and been able to spend so much of his heat in your presence.”

That hardly made sense. As an unrated alpha he should just be making Zuko’s heat worse, right? He could only be making it better if they were mated to each other, and there were certain chemicals involved there that just couldn’t possibly be in play.

“I don’t think I get omegas at all,” Sokka admitted tiredly. 

Iroh patted his shoulder. “Just know that Zuko and I both appreciate your presence. I don’t know how long you intended to stay in the Fire Nation for, but you are certainly welcome to stay as long as you might like or need to.”

Need to? What did that mean? Was he implying something was going to happen with Sokka and Zuko?

God, Sokka couldn’t even think about that. It was just too scary a thought, too BIG of one. Staying with Zuko would be a commitment, and he still had commitments he’d made to his own people.

“I don’t think I can stay long,” Sokka said, shaking his head. “I mean I’d like to, I’d love nothing more than to. But The Southern Water Tribe has just barely reunited, and I’m still needed to help rebuild as much as I can.”

Iroh turned to him, something sparkling behind his eye. “Are you really, though? The Water Tribe people are strong, Sokka. I think they can survive without your presence, and even prosper while they are at it. Especially if you continue to watch over them from over here.”

Sokka’s jaw dropped, in preparation to say words that simply would not come. Did he just call Sokka unnecessary? No way, Iroh would never be so cold. Iroh was a friggin’ bro, and he was like Zuko wherein everything he said he meant. So was he trying to say instead that Sokka could do more good f he stayed here than if he went home? Or…

“You are a young man,” Iroh said during the silence Sokka had left. “And so is Zuko. You are both so busy being important leaders that you forget you are still young. I implore you to enjoy your youth, while you have the chance.” And that was the last thing he said.

Concentrating too much on work was what had cost Sokka his relationship with Suki, all those long months ago. And now, was he really going to let it get between he and Zuko, before they ever even got the chance to see what they could be together?

Then again, did Zuko even really want him?

Sokka wasn’t sure what the right thing to do was.

—

It was the last day of Zuko’s heat, and Sokka could tell as much from the smell. 

The two of them were wandering around outside, and the conversation had once again turned to politics.

“I know the people are getting restless with me, and I haven’t figured out how to get a handle on it. They’re fine with the war being over as much as anyone, but the fact that I’m not thinking of only the Fire Nation and our own advancement anymore isn’t something they’re used to.”

Sokka could see how that could be true. A leader was supposed to devote themselves only to their people, and right now Zuko was still trying to make peace with the whole world. “What about free trade? The Fire Nation isn’t benefiting from all the open trade routes like we are down south?”

Zuko shook his head. “Everything we needed we used to just take. Now we have to pay for everything, so taxes and prices have actually risen everywhere.”

Oops. Didn’t know why Sokka hadn’t thought of that himself. “Not even crafts?”

Zuko blinked. “Okay, you got me. Everyone loves Earth Kingdom jewelry, and we’re getting a lot more fish for everyone now that the waterbenders aren’t under persecution.” He shook his head. “But it’s just not enough.”

“Is only money the issue?” Sokka asked. “Or are they dissatisfied with like. How the war ended.” 

They come to a slow stop, so Zuko could stare out over the pond at the turtleducks. The same pond where they had… Yeah, nevermind that part. “As far as I can tell, even the people of the Fire Nation were a little afraid of Ozai. Everyone seems happy with the new freedoms, with the men back from war. It’s just that we went from the wealthiest people in the world to having to work every day just to eat. They just… haven’t gotten used to the change yet, and I’m not sure how I could make it better.”

“But that’s the thing though,” Sokka said, suddenly realizing he’d known of a solution all along. “Not all of the men are back from war, right? Last I saw there were even Fire Nation troops down in the Southern Tribes, trying to help us rebuild. You could always like…” Sokka shrugged. “Pull them back home.”

Zuko stared at him. “The Fire Nation spent a hundred years systematically tearing apart the entire world. And you think the best idea is to just… stop trying to fix the mistakes we’ve made.”

“They weren’t your mistakes, though, Zuko.” Sokka reminded him. “And while everyone respects what you’ve been doing, it might be time to ease up on the reparations. For the sake of your own people.”

Zuko shook his head, frowning. “I can’t do that, Sokka! It’s been less than five entire years, and people have a longer memory for wars than for any of our kindnesses.”

“There are other ways to give back to the world besides giving them your troops and your money, Zuko. You really do have to put your own nation first, or else the entire system kind of fails.”

Zuko still looked like he was hesitating, so Sokka continued. “I mean, what’s the rest of the world gonna do? Declare war?”

That at least, pulled a short laugh out of Zuko. “But what else is there to offer?” He asked, looking out over the still waters.

“How about technology?” Sokka offered. “We had to use everything we could make up and then some to combat the Fire Nation’s war machines. If you like, shared the plans for it, I know at least a few inventors who could tear those plans apart and build a thousand things that AREN’T weapons out of the ideas they start with.”

Zuko turned to look at Sokka, concern written all over his face. “But what if they just… build more weapons?”

Sokka shrugged. “That’s just a risk you’d have to take. But I’m sure that’s not what would happen, at least not right away. People are tired of war and ready for innovations and new ideas, Zuko. You might just be able to give that to them.”

Zuko’s face finally cracked into something that resembled a smile. “You really think it’s a good idea?”

Sokka nodded, placing a hand on Zuko’s shoulder. “I’m sure it is. You can bring great things to the world, Zuko. And you can do right by your people at the same time.”

Zuko’s smile was soft, the kind of smile that made Sokka’s heart thump louder in his chest. “Thanks you, Sokka. I wish I could keep you.”

Sokka’s eyes widened, and he watched as Zuko’s did the same. “I - I just meant, keep you here in the Fire Nation, for more advice. I could really use you in my council, I don’t…” His eyes darted away. “I don’t have very many people I can rely on.”

The thing was, even with the correction what he’d said was still a big deal. “You would really trust me on the Fire Nation’s council? I don’t… I don’t even live here, I just wanted to help my friend.”

Zuko’s smile grew, bordering on radiant. “Yeah, but you still want what’s best for the people, anyway. Of course, I’d trust you, Sokka. I trust you with anything.”

And lord if he hadn’t proven that by now. This had been the longest week of Sokka’s life, and he still didn’t know what to make of all the faith Zuko had put in him. 

Or maybe he did know what to make of it, and was just scared to admit it.

“I… I want to stay, too.” Sokka finally admitted. “I want to stay here. With you.”

Zuko’s eyes glimmered with something Sokka could only identify as hope, and he inched in closer to Sokka. “Really?” He asked, tentatively. “You’d stay with me?”

Sokka nodded. “I mean, I can keep this vacation going a little longer, and then… and then maybe when I go back I could talk to the rest of the Tribe about some kind of Fire Nation ambassadorship. See how much… See how much I can do for them while I’m...”

“Over here?” Zuko finished hopefully. 

Sokka nodded again, stepping closer to Zuko until there was practically no space between their bodies. 

They looked at each other for a moment, and Zuko flashed Sokka another hesitant look. “Would you be staying for the Fire Nation or for….”

Grabbing one of Zuko’s hands to hold in between his own, Sokka told him. “For you.”

Zuko smiled again, one more time. He let his eyes slip closed, and Sokka knew that was his cue to lean in and kiss him.

The kiss was soft, and simple, and sweet. It was also short, just a small press of lips on lips, two people communicating their feelings.

It wasn’t their first kiss, and it would be long from their last.

—


	2. I Was An Island

Zuko had fallen in love three times in his life.

The first had been with Mai. In retrospect, now that he was an adult and not a sixteen year old going through an emotional and nervous breakdown, he was hesitant to use the word ‘love’ exactly, but since he had thought that was what it was at the time he figured it must count. 

He had fallen for Mai because she had been a beacon of light in his darkest times, a person he cared about who cared for him in return. With love being such a short commodity in his life Zuko had drank up her attentions like he was dying of thirst, found her steady and calm presence to be a balm on his overactive temper.

But none of that had been enough. While it was true they liked, even loved each other, eventually it had become apparent that all they could do was feed each other’s misery, and the fights they had had torn them apart within a year of starting to date. They were just too much alike in all the worst ways to possibly be compatible.

He would always have a place in his heart for Mai, but if their relationship had been allowed to continue it would have torn both of them completely apart. He knew it when they split up, he knew that now, and while he’d always be grateful to her, he could recognize that what they had shared had not been what either of them really deserved.

The second time Zuko fell in love, it was with the Fire Nation.

Despite having lived there for the better part of his life, Zuko had held very little actual affection for his native homeland until after he had become ruler of it. How could he, when all he had known of it was war and hatred? He had grown up with the Fire Nation’s sense of superiority and held onto that pride for years after his exile, but pride and love were two different things.

Even after he had become Fire Lord Zuko still couldn’t say he truly loved his country, not until he had gotten to see it out of wartime. Not until he had gotten to see it up close and intimately, not until he had had to tear the government apart and build it back up shiny and new. And most of all, not until he had finally gotten a chance to talk to its People.

It was the civilians he had fallen in love with. They were full of the pride and love for their country that Zuko had only dreamed of, loved the climate and loved the culture and most of all loved each other. The Fire Nation was made of people with huge hearts and unending passion, the fires in their hearts burning bright and strong and showing Zuko that people, all people, were worth the effort of loving.

And the third time Zuko had fallen in love, it had been with Sokka.

To be perfectly honest, Zuko’s first impression of Sokka had been… Bad. Very bad. And that bad impression had lasted a very, very long time. Not until after Zuko redeemed himself and joined the Avatar, not until they got some alone time to bond over the Boiling Rock had Zuko finally even able to see Sokka’s worth, not just as a warrior and a tactician but as a genuine and kind and interesting person, one worthy of respect.

That respect had turned into friendship easily enough, but the place where the line between friendship and love blurred had taken another couple of years to slowly reach, little interaction by little interaction. 

Especially after the war. Sokka had had his own duties to attend to far outside of the Fire Nation, and as much as he sometimes wished for escape it was a place Zuko could not follow his friends to. Responsibility had separated them for a very long time, but if Sokka hadn’t been so responsible he wouldn’t be the man Zuko had fallen for in the first place. 

While Sokka had started out as a teenage boy lost in a war far bigger than he was, he had turned into a leader and a great man. 

And, the omega in Zuko had noticed when they had time to meet over the years, he had gone from a scrawny kid with a boomerang into possibly the most attractive alpha Zuko had ever had the pleasure to lay eyes on. Or smell. Spirits did that man ever smell  _ divine _ . Not that his physical allure was the reason Zuko had fallen for him, of course, but it certainly didn’t hurt.

At first that mixture of friendship and attraction had been enough, enough at least for Zuko to develop the first hints of his feelings towards Sokka. When and how that had turned to love was a more complicated question, one that had taken years of time to develop and ultimately boiled down to one simple, almost inconsequential fact. Sokka could make Zuko laugh. Could make him smile, could make him feel worthy of his title of Fire Lord, all with the simplest little comments and gestures. 

When Sokka had come to visit with the unfortunate timing of coinciding with Zuko’s heat, Zuko had already had feelings for the other man. When Sokka had shown Zuko nothing but the utmost respect and almost inhuman levels of sexual restraint, Zuko had been certain this was the alpha he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

Luckily for him, Sokka apparently felt similarly. He had agreed to stay here in the Fire Nation to be closer to Zuko, leaving only for a short month to return home and negotiate his new position as the Water Tribe’s ambassador, where he’d be able to stay by Zuko’s side on a more permanent basis.

So, Zuko was not only in love, but that feeling was somehow actually reciprocated in kind, and Sokka loved him back. Had even told him as much, though it had taken another month of their being officially a romantic couple for either man to gather the courage to utter the word.

Since they’d been together, Zuko had only grown to love Sokka more and more. Sokka could make him feel things he’d never felt before, things like feeling safe and adored and…  _ soft _ .

Zuko had never felt  _ soft _ before. Omegas were supposed to be nothing but soft, yet Zuko had spent his life hardening himself into a blade. He’d never gotten the chance to experience feeling… vulnerable like Sokka could make him, not in a good way. He didn’t even know there was such a thing as “good vulnerable” until Sokka. He didn’t know he could enjoy letting his guard down like this.

“Mm,” Sokka muttered into the side of Zuko’s neck, kissing and nibbling at the skin of his throat. “So  _ warm _ .”

And, Zuko reflected with a stifled moan, never before Sokka had he felt such  _ lust _ . A river of heat boiling inside of him, making him  _ want _ like he’d never wanted before, feel sensations he’d never even heard of before. Sokka made him feel like an  _ omega _ , a soft creature that only ever felt good things like contentment and happiness and all consuming lust. 

Even with just the lightest touches he could inspire shivers to run down Zuko’s spine, even the softest kisses could stir the fires in Zuko’s belly into an inferno. Zuko almost didn’t know how to handle all of these new…  _ feelings _ . Couldn’t fight against them, couldn’t stop them, all he could do was get pulled under by the tow of desire and just  **submit** . 

Sokka’s kisses were hot against his skin, his hands heavy anchors pinning Zuko’s hips down onto Sokka’s lap. Zuko had never known submitting could feel so good.

“Spirits, Zuko, you’re so  _ hot _ ,” Sokka breathed into Zuko’s ear. “Can smell how turned on you are, just from a little making out. Wish I had the time to take you apart.”

“We don’t, though,” Zuko moaned, biting his lip and tightening where his arms were looped around Sokka’s neck. “I've got a meeting in just a few minutes, and after that your sister is supposed to be showing up before night falls.”

Sokka made a noise of disappointment into Zuko’s exposed collarbone, where his robes were falling apart from Sokka pawing at him. “I’m sure we’ve got time for  _ something _ . Maybe I could eat you out? Just a little?”

Zuko made a whining noise from deep in the back of his throat. “If I’m late, someone will come looking for me.”

“Not even a little taste?” Sokka pleaded, hands slipping inside the bottom of Zuko’s robes to slide calloused palms over Zuko’s trembling thighs. “I bet I can make you come before anyone even comes looking for us.”

He made a very compelling argument, Zuko found. “Lock the door.”

Sokka grinned, the two scrambling apart so Sokka could lock the door and Zuko could move to sit on the edge of his own desk, kicking open his robes and shucking down his underthings to expose himself to the morning air. 

And expose himself to his lover, who had just turned around from locking the door in time to see Zuko and his hard omega cock as it stood up, opening up the lips of his wet pussy like a flower waiting to be pollinated.

Sokka licked his lips, walking over to Zuko and falling to his knees. Reverently, he leaned forward for a kiss, lips falling to Zuko’s aching cock before he began to lick and suckle at it, a flood of pleasure overwhelming Zuko at the touch and making him shiver and grasp at the edges of the desk.

As much as his cock throbbed at the attention his pussy was even worse, pulsating around nothing as it begged for Sokka’s attention. Only after a few long drawn out moments of playing with his cock did Sokka turn his reverence southwards, licking a long stripe up the length of Zuko’s wet cunt to taste the slick leaking out of him.

Zuko shuddered, biting down on a moan as Sokka went to work. His dexterous tongue licked at Zuko’s aching cunt, flickering from licking at his cock down to plunging his whole tongue inside of Zuko’s leaking hole, licking at the insides of his pussy with deadly skill. Zuko whimpered and his legs clamped around Sokka’s head, back arching as he pushed his hips further into Sokka’s face.

Sokka moaned into Zuko’s pussy, the sound muffled by the meat of Zuko’s thighs on either side of his head. His tongue pushed in deep, flickered and rolled like a serpent’s before returning to lapping up Zuko’s slick folds.

He pushed one of Zuko’s thighs away from his head far enough to move it, returning his focus to Zuko’s cock as he slid the head and most of the length into his hot-wet mouth to start to suck. His fingers found their place in Zuko’s hungry cunt, two long digits pushing inside to resume playing with Zuko’s pussy while the rest of Sokka’s attentions were focused on sucking on Zuko’s aching cock.

Zuko melted into the desk, thighs straining and spine trembling as he panted out in heavy breaths, pleasure rolling over him in waves and slowly building up higher and higher with each suck to his cock and every push of those long wonderful fingers inside of him.

“I’m gonna…” Zuko gasped, fingers scratching scorch marks into the edges of his desk. “Keep going, keep going, I’m almost…”

Sokka redoubled his efforts, starting to bob his head up and down the full length of Zuko’s little omega cock and curling his fingers inside his soaking wet pussy. It only took another minute or two before Zuko was shuddering out a moan and coming, cunt throbbing tight around Sokka’s fingers as hs cock spilled into his mouth.

Zuko was still panting hard and coming down from the high of his orgasm when there was a knock on the door, making both he and Sokka jump. 

“Your Majesty. I’m sorry to interrupt, but the dignitaries are gathering for the next meeting, and have already begun asking for you.” En Zhu said through the door, making Zuko groan and bury his face in his hands. 

“I told you we had time,” Sokka whispered with a grin. 

Zuko pushed his face away from his crotch and began the long process of fixing his robes.

—

Zuko’s meetings took all day like they usually did, and aside from that one mid-morning quickie that need not be spoken of, the day went as normally as he had expected. He got some free time to himself in the evenings and tonight was no exception, a guard informing him of Katara’s arrival just as his last scheduled meeting got out.

Perfect, he could go and greet her with Sokka. Aang wasn’t supposed to be visiting with her this time, the couple citing they weren’t attached at the hip and indeed had responsibilities that sometimes required them to separate. Zuko had seen Aang recently on Avatar-related duties anyway, so it would be nice to give the Water Tribe siblings some time alone together. They couldn’t have gotten a chance to see each other very often, especially not after Sokka’s relocation.

When he found Katara by the palace docks, Sokka had already gotten to her first, holding her in a one-armed embrace around the shoulders while they walked back up the palace. Zuko let a smile tug at his lips, realizing they hadn’t seen him yet through the crowd of busy soldiers and sailors that constantly perpetuated the docks. Good, he decided. They deserved the time alone to catch up with each other, even if they were getting close enough for Zuko to overhear.

“You’ll be happy to know I brought what you asked for,” Katara was saying playfully, nudging Sokka in his side. “And it took a lot of trouble to find the right one! ‘Bright as the color blue can get’ wasn’t exactly an easy request to follow.”

She handed him something Zuko couldn’t see, and Sokka’s eyes widened in delight. “Holy crap, it's perfect! And it's so SMOOTH! How did you find one so perfect??”

“I didn’t, stupid. Dad helped out with the shape. I just showed him the lump you wanted and he took care of the first stages.”

Sokka’s hand curled around the unseen object, breath stolen out of his throat. “Even Dad helped? So that means… like… you both approve?”

Katara laughed, shaking them both. “Sokka, if I didn’t approve, you’d have heard a whole earful about it way before now. As in, when you arrived in the Fire Nation kinds of ‘back when.’”

Sokka’s eyes looked like they might start to water from overwhelming emotion. “Well thanks, Katara. You don’t know how much this means to me.”

Zuko cleared his throat loudly, starting to feel like he was eavesdropping on a private conversation. “How much what means to you?” he asked outright, stepping forward into view.

“Zuko!” Sokka fumbled, hiding whatever it was Katara had given him in his shirt. “How much her coming to visit means, obviously! Look at how big my little sister got while I wasn’t looking!” He all but shouted, shoving Katara in front of himself to show her off to Zuko.

Zuko gave a small indulgent laugh. “Sokka, she hasn’t gotten any taller since I saw her a few months ago at the Anniversary.”

“No, but I think her boobs got bigger.”

“Sokka!” Both Zuko and Katara exclaimed, Katara actually laying a smack to her brother’s arm with the scolding. “You shouldn’t be looking at your sister’s boobs!”

“Not like I can help it with them staring at me like that! They got TOO big, you should tape them down or something like Toph does.”

This time, he earned a punch to the arm instead of just a smack. 

“And how much attention do you typically pay to Toph’s boobs?” Zuko asked teasingly. “Just out of curiosity.”

“If you’re asking if it compares to the time I’ve spent thinking about  _ you _ , then they’re in whole different universes, my dear.”

“That’s all I ask,” Zuko said. “Come on, it’s almost time for dinner. Let’s get back to the palace before Uncle eats everything without us.”

“He would not,” Katara defended. 

“No, he wouldn’t,” Zuko conceded. “But he’ll definitely finish the tea without us.”

\--

They had a nice dinner together, everyone pressuring Katara with questions about her recent adventures since none of them got far enough out of the palace to have any of their own. She had indulged them with tales of bandit raids and quests to right the balance of the Spirit World, which her hosts listened to with only slightly jealous focus.

Maybe he and Sokka could find the time to travel together soon. If Zuko’s life maintained precedence then surely trouble would find them and they’d be able to have some grand adventure themselves. Possibly involving pirates. Pirates would be just Zuko’s luck, wouldn’t they? He was sure Sokka would love that shit.

After dinner he had expected Sokka and Katara to take off together, and so had settled himself in his office with some busywork that needed to be taken care of. What had surprised him was when after only an hour there’d been a knock on his door, and when Zuko had answered it had been Katara who let herself into his room.

“Hey, Zuko,” she said a little awkwardly, settling herself down on the small couch Iroh sometimes took tea in while Zuko was working. “Sokka got over excited about a new project he’s working on and I got bored of indulging him.” She looked at the scatter of papers across his desk. “Am I interrupting anything? I didn’t need anything, so if you were working I can just…”

“No,” he insisted, shoving the papers he was reading aside. “No, I was just filling time with work because I never know what else to do with myself.” Oops, had that been a little too honest? Fuck it, it was just Katara. Her opinion of him probably didn’t have that much lower to drop anyway.

She smiled, settling her skirt around her where she sat and making herself comfortable. “Well, to be fair, you’ve probably got a lot of work that needs to be done. It can’t be easy ruling an entire nation by yourself.”

“Well, I’m not completely by myself. After we fired all of my father’s old advisors Uncle helped me pick out better ones, so I’ve got a whole council of elders who’ve been helping me out with the… smaller to medium-sized problems that come up.”

A thin eyebrow raised. “Oh, so then you’re not overworking yourself at all?”

“Well,” Zuko swallowed thickly. “I’ve been better about that lately, so. Not... so much?”

“I can only guess why that could be,” Katara laughed, light and tinkling. “Sokka tends to be a good influence on people like that.”

“He’s a good influence in a lot of ways,” Zuko said honestly. “He’s been great to have around the palace in general, and he’s gotten a lot done while he’s been here. I’m lucky to have him.” And then Zuko blushed at his own words, having meant them in a bit more of a platonic capacity than Katara’s little smile read. “I mean, we’re all lucky to have him, in the Fire Nation.”

“I’m sure you are,” Katara said calmly, a hint of a smirk still playing over her features. “Sokka’s a great man, he’s destined to do good things no matter where he chooses to spend his time.”

“Yeah,” Zuko agreed hesitantly, “He really is…” Her words made Zuko pause, doubt washing over him. There was a question that had been plaguing him for months now since Sokka had moved to the Fire Nation, one that he knew he’d never get a straight answer out of Sokka himself for.

“Katara… It’s okay that he’s here, right?” Zuko found himself asking. “I know he was doing a lot of work for the Southern Water Tribe, and he’s barely been back there twice since he started living here. For all that he’s helping me out here, I can’t help but wonder if he could be doing more good…”

“If we stole him back home for ourselves?” Katara asked, humor in her voice. “You know you’ve seen how small our home village actually IS, right? If you want the honest truth, Zuko, from what I’ve seen dad has the entire village more than taken care of. You don’t need to worry about stealing away our best alpha, or anything silly like that.”

But… “Are you sure I didn’t do exactly that, though?” He found himself asking, a little timidly. 

“Well if you did, I’m the only omega from the village his age, and I’m pretty glad you took him off my hands, personally.” She laughed, assuaging Zuko of the better part of his fears with her good humor. 

“I do think though,” she said a little more seriously. “Sokka’s not the type of man who’s gonna be able to be pinned down to any one city, or even Nation, for too long. I think he’s got bigger ambitions than even he knows about, and eventually, he’ll be spending less and less time in any one place, no matter who’s waiting for him at home.”

There… THAT had been what Zuko was afraid of. It had been what had broken up Sokka and Suki, and while Sokka seemed content helping the Water Tribes from afar and opening up communication between the two lands, Zuko couldn’t see him being content here in the Fire Nation forever. “So, what are you saying? I should give up on him now, or something?”

“Not at all,” Katara smiled sympathetically at him. “I don’t see any reason why you two can’t stay together. Just as long as you’re aware he won’t always be walking the same path as you, and that you’ll end up spending a lot of time away from each other. As long as both of you are prepared for that, the long run between you should be perfectly content.”

Content… Logically speaking, Zuko knew being content was just about all he could ask for in his life. But life would be so much easier and better if only there was a way to keep Sokka with him… too bad even Zuko knew how selfish that thought was. Sokka was just too big to be contained by one place, and Zuko had known that to begin with. Now, if he wanted this to work, he just had to accept it, too.

“So you really like him that much, huh?” Katara said, almost to herself. “I knew it was getting serious, but I only got to see you two together during the Anniversary Party where everyone was so busy, so I haven’t gotten to see you two as a couple that much.”

“O-oh?” Zuko fumbled, uncertain of what to say. 

“I’m happy for you,” She said finally. “You’re the last thing I imagined for my brother for sure, but I think having you around is good for him. He needs a little grounding in reality sometimes. And for some reason, you seem to really make him happy.”

“For some reason.”

Katara laughed again, coming close enough to pat Zuko on the head like a child. “Just keep working on it. I’m sure you can make each other happy.”

“Happy like you and Aang are?” Zuko found himself asking.

Katara paused. Shrugged. “I don’t see why not.” Was the answer she ended up on.

“Thanks, Katara. That… means a lot, coming from you.” Zuko said honestly. Katara was the most important person in Sokka’s life for sure, but she was also an important friend to Zuko himself, and her approval meant the world to him. Especially considering how judgemental and grudge-bearing she could be when she wanted to. Not that Zuko considered those bad traits, just… scary ones.

“Anyway,” Katara sat back down, rifling idly through the papers Sokka had left one of the last times he’d been hanging out in here while Zuko had been working. “I’m sure we can find something to talk about other than my brother. We’re the only two omegas in our group of friends, after all, surely we have something we can bond over!” 

“We bonded over revenge. Does that still count?”

She shook her head. “Not unless we find someone new to take revenge against, no.” 

Well that was a disappointment. 

They ended up first talking about the most embarrassing stories about Sokka they could come up with, which turned into stories about their childhoods, which eventually turned into the two of them sharing fond memories of their mothers.

It was a good night.

\--

Sokka had been working hard lately. 

Katara stayed for two weeks, and Sokka had taken off a lot of his duties at the time to be able to spend more time with her. He was making up for it now, busy late into the night with work and sequestered in either his office or his seldom-used bedroom all the way up until it was time to crawl into Zuko’s bed to sleep.

They hadn’t gotten much time to talk as such, usually only seeing each other for meals where the two of them would fill each other in on the usually mundane events and arguments of their day. It was nice, but… Zuko was starting to get worried.

Sokka was stressed about something, and he wasn’t willing to share with Zuko what exactly was bothering him. Zuko could live with that, he didn’t need to know everything to still feel like he was trusted. But he couldn't live with himself if he just sat around and watched as his boyfriend suffered like this while he did nothing.

He wanted to do something for Sokka, something that showed he was paying attention and cared about what was going on in his life. Unfortunately he was clueless for a decent idea to SHOW his appreciation, short of the classic idea of ‘more blowjobs.’ Which, to be honest, he was already volunteering a lot of to begin with.

He needed to think of something else. So Zuko tried to think of it from a different perspective, instead of thinking of what a man might do for his boyfriend Zuko tried to think of what an omega might do for his alpha. He needed to try to think more like an omega when it came to this sort of thing anyway, right? It only made sense.

Granted, the only thing he could even think of from that perspective was that old Earth Kingdom saying that the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach. Which, fuck it, good enough for him. Making Sokka something to eat sounded right up the alpha’s alley anyway.

So, Zuko resolved, he’d make a nice big lunch and the two of them would take it out to the pond to have a picnic. That sounded nice, right? Zuko could be romantic. He was romantic as fuck, damn it.

Which meant that whatever he made for Sokka had to be special. He knew the first thing about Sokka’s appetite was that he loved meat, but they had hippocow and komodo sausages all the time and Zuko wanted this to be a little less… ordinary than that.

Something fancy. Something imported. Something famous for being succulent like... Antelopefox. How the hell could he order some of that to the kitchens? Should he ask someone for help? Crap this was already more complicated than it should be.

In the end, he sent someone down to the meat market who was able to pick some up for what he was told was an exorbitant price. It would be worth it though, he was going to do this, all he had to do was figure out the vital next step in the process after “acquire meat.”

Which was of course, “actually cooking.”

Zuko… didn’t have as much experience cooking as he thought he did, now that he searched through his memories. Most of his exile had been spent on a warship that had its own complete kitchen where Zuko, exiled or not, was still a prince and therefore not expected to cook. After he and Uncle had lost the ship and stuck out on their own it had been Iroh doing most of the food preparation and only teaching Zuko the bare basics of camping they’d need to survive. There had been that stint in the Earth Kingdom where they’d had a kitchen of their own, and Zuko had done a little bit of regular cooking there, but now that he was actively thinking about it? He had been pretty bad at it, hadn’t he?

Well, hell. This was going to be an adventure, then.

Maybe he should practice on something easy first. Something less… you know. Wasteful of the taxpayer’s money if he fucked it up.

What he ended up with, after an entire morning commandeering half of one of the kitchens to himself hile the cooks tried to unobtrusively offer advice on the side, was a basket full of burned hippocow steaks, undercooked komodo chicken legs, and lastly one almost-perfect serving of antelopefox. And some oil-fried potato and carrots, because he had to at least pretend to serve a well-rounded meal and not just a bunch of oddly-prepared meats to his boyfriend.

Sokka helped him spread out the blanket over the grass with a smile, and as Zuko began unloading the basket he’d brought out with meat and potatoes, he asked, “What’s all this about? I wasn’t even expecting a picnic, much less one that looks so…”

“Excessive?” Zuko tried, scratching his head at the blanket full of food. Maybe he had made too much after all. 

“I don’t know what word I was gonna use, but I think I’ll settle for delicious, actually. This looks amazing, Zuko. No one EVER lets me eat this much meat.”

“Because it’s probably not healthy,” Zuko muttered. Louder, he told Sokka, “I just wanted to make something you like.”

Sokka looked up at Zuko. “Made? You made all this yourself?” He looked even more impressed than he had before, which was actually saying something. “What brought this on? It looks like you went through so much trouble for me!”

“It wasn’t really much trouble,” Zuko said, pretty sure he wasn’t lying. “And I just… you’ve been so busy lately, I guess I just wanted to make sure we made time for. Us.”

Sokka’s blue eyes watered comically. “Zuko… that’s so sweet!” He lunged forward to embrace Zuko in a hug, holding the omega in his arms while he cooed, “I wanted to spend more time with you, too, honey! I can’t believe how lucky I am.”

Zuko felt warm deep in his belly, and he pushed out of the hug with a small smile. “Decide how lucky you are once you’ve actually tried my awful cooking.”

Sokka laughed, already digging into a charred steak with an enthusiastic grin. “It tastes like my Dad’s cooking,” he declared cheerfully, meaning at least he had a history of bad taste passed down to him and not even Zuko’s efforts could disappoint him.

Zuko dug into his own potatoes, having made himself sick of meat during the cooking process and needing a break before he could indulge in anything that had at one point bled directly onto him. Not that he didn’t still appreciate meat, he just… needed a break from it.

The conversation with Katara from when she first arrived flashed through his mind, and suddenly Zuko didn’t have much of an appetite anymore. Specifically, the part where Katara had confirmed Zuko’s worst fears - the one about Sokka not being able to stay in one place for too long. He wasn’t necessarily afraid of Sokka getting sick of Zuko himself, but the Fire Nation might prove to be too much for him, and Zuko had no idea how long he’d be content here for and when he’d start getting stir crazy and need to move on with his life.

When that happened, was it really true they’d be able to stay together like Katara had said, or would Sokka move on from him, too? How long could this perfect little fantasy of a domestic life really last? And what would happen to Zuko when it was over?

The thought left him cold. Too cold for a beautiful sunny afternoon like this, in fact. The point was to enjoy whatever time with Sokka he had, right? Even if it would never be long enough for Zuko.

\--

The next night Sokka was acting… strange. He had been a little distant in the preceding weeks, which Zuko had attributed to his workload before, but ever since the picnic yesterday all that quiet avoidance had turned into some kind of strange manic energy. Sokka was still around for all the important parts of the day, but he was nervous and cagey, constantly looking like he was ready to say something but never quite able to get out anything coherent.

It made Zuko nervous in turn, put him on edge like he hadn’t been since back in the days of war. All he could think of was that Sokka was finally ready to pack up and leave the Fire Nation, and that this was when he’d announce to Zuko that he was leaving for some grand adventure and he’d probably meet someone else while he was away so they might as well just end this now.

Was Zuko blowing things out of proportions? Probably. Was he catastrophizing the situation? Almost undoubtedly. Could he help it? Absolutely not.

Sokka’s odd behavior continued into the night, and but the end of it Zuko wasn’t surprised to realize the alpha was nowhere to be found when it came time to go to bed. Fine, whatever. Zuko needed to get used to sleeping alone again anyway.

Needless to say, what he found when he got to his bedchamber was… a bit of a surprise. Once his eyes got used to the weird lighting of having only a series of candles that he didn’t remember being there before lighting up the room, he found Sokka already sitting out the bed, apparently waiting for Zuko by the way his face lit up when he entered.

“Sokka?” Zuko said, kicking off his shoes to enter the bedchamber only to find flower petals underneath his toes. What was going on here, had Sokka been picking apart flowers in here or something?

“Zuko!” Sokka greeted, shooting to his feet with a nervous smile. “I’ve been waiting for you!”

“I can see that,” Zuko said curiously, dread whirling about in his mind like a storm. “Sokka… what’s been going on with you lately? If there’s something you need to tell me you can just say it.”

Sokka nodded shakily. “Yeah, about that…” He started, and Zuko braced himself for impact. “There’s actually a pretty good reason I’ve been so busy lately, and I’m finally ready to explain myself.”

Zuko took in a deep breath, closing his eyes for a long moment. “Zuko,” he heard Sokka say, the alpha gently grabbing one of Zuko’s hands. He opened his eyes to see a glint of shining blue, Sokka holding in his hand a beautiful carved stone attached to a chain. “Um, traditionally we make it into a choker, but I figured in your position you might want to be able to hide it in your robe sometimes so I made it a little longer for you. At least for now, or whatever.”

“I don’t,” Zuko’s brows furrowed together, “I don’t understand. You got me a necklace?”

Sokka blanched, fingers tightening on the chain of the necklace. “R-right, I forgot I might have to uh. Explain this to you.” He turned red and averted his eyes, gathering up a deep breath before he continued. “In the Water tribes, we have a tradition. What I made for you here is a betrothal necklace, it’s… it’s how I was trying to propose to you.”

Zuko blinked, heart seizing in his chest. He remembered now, that the water tribe did that for their omegas, and realized only now that Sokka could have been so secretive and nervous lately because he was trying to prepare... Prepare to propose to Zuko.

Zuko touched the carved surface of the necklace almost reverently, only now looking at the design. On the surface of the polished blue stone was carved what looked at first to be a flame, before Zuko looked closer and realized the sides of the fire were actually made of two swords standing tip to tip, the tongues of the flames made of flared tips coming off the sword’s blades. 

It was beautiful, and it had obviously taken Sokka a great deal of time and effort. “Sokka…” Zuko said softly. “How long have you been planning this?”

“Well, first I had to get the stone from the Water Tribe, and then I had to practice carving which took…” Sokka shook his head. “Let’s just say a while. It doesn’t matter how long I’ve been planning to marry you, all that matters is whether or not you say yes.”

Zuko took in a deep, shuddering breath. “Sokka, I…”

Hesitating, Sokka babbled, “I know, it’s still kind of early to ask when we’ve only been together a year. You don’t even have to decide right now, I just… I love you, Zuko. My home is wherever you are, and I wanted to give you this to show you no matter what happens, I wanna be with you.”

Zuko was shaking now, and if there were tears budding at the corners of his eyes he was too preoccupied to notice. And that was because he had started to laugh, little chuckles shaking his body as relief and wonder and affection all filled his body to the brim until he was overflowing with it all, and he had no choice but to laugh it all out of his system.

“I was -” Zuko said between chuckles, laughing even further at the stupefied look on Sokka’s face. “I was so afraid you were planning on leaving. I don’t know why it never occured to me for a second you’d want to marry me.”

“Leave?” Sokka scoffed. “Why would I wanna leave? You’re… everything to me, Zuko.”

“But the Fire Nation isn’t. I don’t know, you’ve been here for practically a year, I didn’t know if it was time for you to… move on.” Zuko was smiling. “I’m glad I was wrong.”

“Yeah you were,” Sokka said. “Even if I need to leave the Fire Nation sometimes, I know that I always want to come home to you, Zuko.”

Zuko looked at the necklace again, still hanging between them in Sokka’s hand. “Could you put it on me?” he said, turning his back to Sokka and lifting his hair up out of the way. “T-the necklace, I mean.” Like it wasn’t completely obvious what he meant.

Sokka didn’t hesitate, agile fingers slipping the chain around Zuko’s neck and clasping it off, the weight of the stone settling low on Zuko’s collarbone. 

“So does this mean...” Sokka asked as Zuko turned back around to face him again.

“Yes, Sokka,” Zuko smiled. “I’d be honored to wear your betrothal necklace. And of course it means I’ll marry you.”

Sokka leaned in for a kiss, which Zuko happily reciprocated. Zuko sunk into the feeling of Sokka’s arms as they settled around him, revelling in the bliss of the feeling of being really and truly  _ wanted _ , of being the most important person in someone’s entire world. 

They kissed for a while, simply enjoying one another’s touch and the security of knowing the other’s feelings. But Zuko’s mind was still reeling, only coming down from the shock of the situation to accept it as reality now in Sokka’s arms. He was thinking of commitment and what it meant to Sokka, and what it meant to him, and he was thinking of the necklace he intended to never take off. If only there was something he could give back to Sokka, something that would show that Zuko felt the same about Sokka that Sokka felt for him…

Oh. Of course there was something Zuko could do for him. He didn’t know why the thought hadn’t occurred to him months ago.

Zuko’s hands tightened on Sokka’s shoulders, and he broke off the kiss. “Sokka…” He said, voice gentle in the soft atmosphere of the room. “I have to ask for one more thing from you tonight.”

“Anything,” Sokka said honestly, his voice dropped low.

Zuko’s head tilted to the side, intentionally baring the skin of his throat to Sokka’s gaze. “I want your mating mark, Sokka. I want you to bite me, and claim me as your mate.”

He felt the shiver that ran down Sokka’s spine, watched the way his eyes widened. “Holy shit,” he muttered softly, a blush spreading across his face. “Zuko, are you sure?”

Zuko just laughed. “I literally just agreed to marry you thirty seconds ago, Sokka. Why wouldn’t I want your mark, too?”

Sokka’s answer was to kiss Zuko again, fierce and passionate and burning with emotion. Zuko kissed back, arms looping around Sokka’s neck to pull his fiancé close, feeling the heat from his body and the breath from his chest against his as they kissed in the soft light of their shared bedroom.

Sokka led him back to the bed, and Zuko let himself be pushed down into laying back against the soft down pillows while Sokka made himself comfortable laying halfway on top of Zuko and halfway by his side, kissing him again and again with the same intensity as their very first kiss all those long months ago.

And Zuko did what it had taken him so long to learn how to do - he relaxed into it. Let himself be swept away by the currents of Sokka’s touch, let himself be kissed and held and loved until the warmth in his belly turned into a slow boiling heat.

Sokka’s hands started to drift, smoothing over Zuko’s sides as his tongue played with Zuko’s in their kiss. It was a nice gesture but Zuko still had on too many robes to really feel the warmth of Sokka’s touch, so he pulled away from the kiss to delicately ask, “Um, help me undress?”

Sokka nodded, hands slipping underneath Zuko’s back to reach the tie of his belt, undoing it with deft fingers before sliding the first layers of Zuko’s robes off of his body to fall back onto the bed. Zuko craned his neck up for another kiss while Sokka worked, carefully ondo all the various belts and layers of Zuko’s normal royal garb until he was completely exposed, half hard and shivering from the cool night air. 

“You’re so beautiful, Zuko.” Or maybe shivering from something else. Sokka’s words always had this effect on him, always had his skin prickling with goosebumps with just the slightest praise. It was double so now, knowing Sokka’s level of commitment and just how much he really meant everything he said did things to Zuko’s body he’d never experienced before. 

Sokka’s hands were running down Zuko’s bare skin now, and Zuko trembled at the touch. “And I love this body. It’s good to finally see it again under all those stupid robes.”

“Sokka, you see me naked all the time. We have sex  _ all the time. _ ”

“Yeah, and it’s never enough,” Sokka grinned, kissing at his throat. “If I could have it my way, we’d never leave this bed.”

“Pervert,” Zuko smirked back, sighing as Sokka plucked the crown out of his hair and set it on the end table, resulting in a cascade of hair falling onto his shoulders and into his face. 

“That’s part of it, sure,” Sokka admitted, swiping a lock of hair behind Zuko’s ear. “But I also wanna keep you in bed because I think we both need to sleep more.”

Zuko laughed, which made Sokka grin again, and lean down for another kiss. His hands kept wandering on Zuko’s newly exposed body, touch lingering on the pink scars that lingered on Zuko’s otherwise pale skin.

Sokka’s kisses trailed from Zuko’s mouth down to his jaw, and Zuko sighed as the gentle touches left him feeling shivery and warm. 

“You know what drives me crazy?” Sokka whispered, breath hot against Zuko’s left, burn-scarred ear. “This cute little pink ear of yours. It’s so adorable, whenever I look at it I just wanna bite it.” 

He did exactly that, and Zuko trembled, back arching and spine melting at the same paradoxical time. “Sokka…” Zuko moaned, reaching up to grab at Sokka’s shoulders. 

“Yeah…” Sokka said, voice low in Zuko’s ear. “And I love the way your voice falls apart when I get you all wound up and take you apart.” With that his wandering hand found Zuko’s hardened cock, fingers wrapping around his length to give Zuko a meaningful little squeeze.

Zuko’s fingers clawed into Sokka’s shoulders through his shirt. “I think,” He said carefully, panting a single heavy breath Sokka started to stroke his cock. “That it’s your turn to get naked.”

Sokka grinned at him. “Care to do the honors?”

Zuko all but tired Sokka’s shirt off, both of them laughing as Sokka all but tripped over his pants in his hurry to be out of them. When he climbed back on top of Zuko it was glorious skin on skin, Sokka’s bare shoulders under Zuko's hands as they joined in another kiss, and Sokka’s hard cock pressing into Zuko’s own as Sokka’s weight settled over Zuko.

Sokka rolled their hips together, cocks sliding against one another in a sensual grind, which lasted a few long moments while they enjoyed each other’s bare skin. Sokka broke the kiss to move his lips down to Zuko’s neck, kissing and licking at the smooth column of his throat until Zuko sighed in pleasure, at which point he bared his teeth and started to bite and nibble at the tender flesh of Zuko’s throat.

Heat broiled in Zuko’s stomach and a low growl rumbled out of his bitten throat, slick instantly wettening his empty cunt. “Fuck, Sokka,” he groaned, “Feels so good… need you so badly.”

Sokka smiled against his neck, giving one last little bite before he let go to mutter, “I know, honey. But you’re gonna be good and let me take care of you for a while first. Tonight of all nights I wanna take things nice and slow.”

A whiny little groan slipped out of Zuko’s throat, and Sokka once again began his onslaught of kisses on Zuko’s skin. From his throat down his collarbone and down over to his nipples, where Sokka stopped to suckle at the hardened buds until Zuko was gasping, panting out Sokka’s name. 

“So cute,” Sokka cooed as he licked his way over to Zuko’s still unattended left nipple. “So perfect, all the way down to how you taste.”

Zuko shuddered, face burning at the compliment. He already couldn’t believe his night had gone this way to begin with, couldn’t believe that instead of trying to leave him Sokka had proposed, and even more agreed to mark him. Agreed to be Zuko’s forever, and now he was here in Zuko’s bed touching him and praising him, the words making Zuko feel as embarrassed as he was turned on, totally overwhelmed with emotion.

“You’re the one who’s too good to be true,” Zuko said back with a shudder, trying to turn the tables on Sokka and deflect some of his embarrassment. 

Sokka just smiled down at him, hand slipping down between Zuko’s legs to play with the lips of his quivering pussy. “Aw, are you trying to razzle my dazzle? That’s so cute! My sweet perfect little omega, I’m so lucky to call you mine.”

The praise melted Zuko like a cheap candle, who’s insides were starting to throb with the need to be filled with the way Sokka was toying with his cunt. “And you’re already so wet for me,” Sokka marveled with an enamoured sigh, nibbling on Zuko’s nipple as one finger stroked the pink insides of Zuko’s waiting pussy. “Can’t wait to take you apart again and again, make you come apart under my hands and my tongue and my cock.”

“Then stop teasing me,” Zuko pleaded, fingers digging into Sokka’s shoulders. “I asked for your teeth tonight, not this slow torture.”

“Aww, can’t I torture you just a little?” Sokka grinned, middle finger slipping into the wet heat of Zuko’s cunt. “I know you like it as much as I do, gorgeous.”

Zuko gasped, clenching around Sokka’s finger as it slipped inside. It was what he needed but not nearly enough of it at the same time, Sokka’s finger gently curling and uncurling to pet the insides of Zuko’s pussy as he whispered more praise into Zuko’s skin.

“Love your pussy, too,” Sokka growled, in between sucking hickeys onto Zuko’s chest. “Hotter than anything I’ve ever touched before, and you always suck me right in like you’re hungry for it.” 

“I am,” Zuko panted, hips rocking up to try and get more of Sokka’s touch. “And I need more.”

“So  _ cute _ ,” Sokka crooned, teasing Zuko’s entrance with the tip of a second finger. “You’re so cute when you’re riled up. I can’t wait til you do that thing you do.”

Zuko bucked into the digit. “What thing?”

“Mm, not important,” Sokka said. “We’ll get there yet.”

And with that, he slid another finger inside Zuko’s pussy to join the first, crooking both of them in a come-hither motion that hit right against Zuko’s G-spot. He gasped, back arching as he writhed on the bed under Sokka’s hands and teeth and tongue, currently licking at one of the bite marks he’d left on Zuko’s chest.

It didn’t take too much longer for the room to fill up with the sounds of Zuko’s heavy panting, Sokka’s fingers toying with him while the Firelord gasped and shivered on the bed below them. 

Every stroke of Sokka’s fingers inside him built up a bubble inside of Zuko’s body, every coo and whisper and kiss making it swell up more and more, until the bubble was bursting and flooding out an ocean of pleasure, every part of Zuko’s body awash with the sensations as he came on Sokka’s fingertips.

“Are you all finished?” Sokka asked, still gently petting Zuko’s throbbing insides as he came down from his high.

“Not even close,” Zuko said in a breath, grabbing onto Sokka’s head by the jaw to drag him up for a proper kiss. “You promised me that mark and I’m getting it tonight, Sokka. And if you don’t get that knot in me soon I’m just gonna knock you over and mount you myself.”

“Ooh, your threats are so sexy though,” Sokka laughed. “It’s pretty tempting just to let you do that.”

Zuko let out a low whine from deep in his throat, a disgustingly omega-like noise that made Sokka’s eyes widen. “Sokka…” He said, voice still heavy with annoyance even through the haze lust and  _ need _ he was feeling right now.

“I’m just kidding baby,” Sokka’s fingers withdrew leaving Zuko’s cunt feeling empty and bereft. “I said I was gonna take care of you, didn’t I?” Zuko’s eyes cast down to see Sokka’s hand wrapping around his own thick cock, guiding it to where Zuko’s pussy waited for him. “Now lie back and let me make you feel good.”

“That’s what I was already doing,” Zuko scowled, but Sokka was pressing the head of his cock against his entrance and the mere thought of Sokka’s cock going inside him was enough to make his pussy tremble with arousal, pulsing out another wave of slick.

Zuko was so wet and ready now that even Sokka’s sizeable alpha cock slid in with only the slightest effort. And Zuko loved this part, loved the feeling of connection that came with Sokka settling inside him, loved the intimacy that this moment brought. He felt closer to Sokka than he’d ever felt to another person when Sokka was filling him up, felt exposed and vulnerable but somehow at the same time, there was never any time when he felt safer.

“Spirts, Zuko, I love this pussy so much. You’re so hot inside, and you’re just sucking me right in.” Sokka praised, voice breathy with arousal. He was hot and hard inside of Zuko, so big that even just sitting here without moving was enough to have Zuko throbbing around Sokka’s cock.

Sokka’s cock stretched him out so nicely, they fit so perfect together. Sokka seems to agree because with one more slick push he was settled fully inside Zuko’s pussy, so deep Zuko could feel his alpha all the way in his guts and loving every second of it.

“Could stay inside you all day,” Sokka sighed, his hips giving the slightest little twitch of a roll, seeking to bury himself further inside Zuko. “Wish we had the luxury to do that someday, just spend the whole day right here with you warming my cock.”

Zuko moaned, clenching wetly around Sokka’s hard cock at the thought. “Someday,” he promised, “Someday we’ll take a vacation. And I’ll spend the whole trip with your dick inside me.”

Sokka laughed, and Zuko could feel it all the way from his cunt to his smile. Sokka’s laugh was beautiful, and it shook his body in a way that made his cock twitch inside Zuko’s pussy, which was already throbbing with need to begin with. Needless to say it felt wonderful, and Zuko wished he could make Sokka laugh forever, all while holding the alpha inside his willing body to feel every jolt from his slightest reaction.

It was then that Sokka began the light rock of his hips, gentle at first, just the slight stretch and pull of movement inside Zuko’s ready body. He took it slow for a while, kissing at Zuko’s neck and rolling his hips to glide his cock in and out of Zuko’s tight embrace for a few long minutes of easy relaxed pleasure.

“Sokka,” Zuko sighed, hands running up and down his alpha’s shoulders and back to feel the shape and strength of his muscles. “Feels so good. But you don’t have to take things so slow, you know.”

“But you’re so sweet like this,” Sokka said with a little grin, rolling in a little harder to watch Zuko shudder beneath him. “So warm and tight and soft, just for me. My perfect little omega.”

“Your mate,” Zuko corrected, rocking his own hips up to meet Sokka’s thrusts. “At least I will be soon.”

It was Sokka’s turn to shudder above him, that wide-eyed look of lust and wonder returning to his face like the first time Zuko had said he’d wanted Sokka to mate him. He leaned in to capture Zuko’s mouth in a kiss, a deep filthy kiss that matched the increasing pace of their lovemaking. 

Sokka was pushing in harder now, fucking Zuko just the way he liked it. “Here, lemme…” He mumbled into their kiss, one of the hands on Zuko’s hips moving to push his thigh up a little higher and change the angle where Sokka’s cock was moving in him.

It only took a little bit of shifting for Sokka to find that perfect spot, the tip of his cock now striking against Zuko’s G-spot on every hard thrust. The result was Zuko clenching almost desperately around Sokka’s cock, cunt throbbing with need and moans spilling out of his throat at every deep push inside.

“There, right there, like that, fuck me just like that,” Zuko panted out, and Sokka complied with enthusiasm. He swore out a curse of his own and fucked Zuko faster and harder, the wet slap of skin on skin filling up the room almost as loud as Zuko’s voice echoing loud moans through the air.

Above him, Sokka was looking right into Zuko’s eyes. His gaze was so intense, so loving and so reverent, it overwhelmed Zuko with the reality of what they were doing. Getting married, getting mated, binding themselves to one another for the rest of their lives… He wanted it so much, but at the same time right now it was almost too much to even comprehend, and Zuko found his eyes closing just to avoid Sokka’s adoring gaze and the way it made Zuko  _ feel _ . 

Instead he lost himself to the sensations, lost himself in Sokka’s arms and let his world narrow down to nothing but the hard length of alpha cock filling up his body. The pleasure was wracking him from his head down to his feet, his heart pounding his breath heaving and his toes curling and everything was hot, hot, so very  _ hot _ .

“That’s it,” Sokka laughed, somewhere far away and right in Zuko’s ear at the same time. “I love this part. You don’t even know you’re doing it, do you?”

Zuko’s eyes fluttered open, but before he could ask, ‘Doing what?’ Sokka drove into his sweet spot again and Zuko choked out another low moan. And that’s when he noticed the shower of sparks floating into the air and dissipating, and Zuko realized he was breathing out more and more of them with each vibrato moan that Sokka pulled out of him, a fireworks display raining out of his throat at every gasp.

Sokka grinned at him, and Zuko’s face flushed even redder and hotter than before. “S-Sokka,” Zuko tried to scold, but it turned into more of a whine by the end, and he wound up finishing with a pathetic plead of, “More?”

Deep inside his cunt Sokka’s cock grew larger and harder, and Zuko’s pussy throbbed wetly around him, another wave of slick squelching out around his cock. “Yeah, I’ll give you more,” Sokka promised, still fucking Zuko in smooth rolls of his experienced hips. “Gonna have to turn you over soon. I can feel my knot starting up.”

And indeed so could Zuko, Sokka’s knot swelling at the base of his cock, trying to lock their bodies together. As much as Zuko would love to be connected that way right this instant, he knew that was counterproductive to his real goals of getting that mating mark in his neck.

Before he could so much as sit up on his elbows Sokka was pulling out and grabbing Zuko by the hips, manhandling him over onto his stomach in one smooth flip that belied his strength. The move was swift and efficient and made Zuko throb around nothing, temporarily bereft of Sokka’s cock and desperately missing it’s girth.

“Lift your hips for me?” Sokka asked, and Zuko complied readily. Sokka shoved a pillow underneath Zuko’s raised hips and slapped his ass, thanking him with a simple, “Good boy.”

Zuko shivered. Still thinking about Zuko’s comfort, even in the middle of mind-blowing sex. What a good alpha. What a good mate…

Sokka was grabbing Zuko by the hips, cock finding its way back into Zuko’s pussy with an easy slide. Easy up until they got to the swell of Sokka’s knot though, growing large enough now that it took a hard push and a stretch to get it back inside of Zuko’s heat. 

It felt gloriously good though, hot and hard and growing bigger to fill Zuko up more and more. And all the while as it grew Sokka was back to fucking him, pounding into Zuko’s pussy at a pace that grew more merciless in time with the swelling of his knot.

Sokka was soon in as far as he could go and officially stuck inside, knot fully inflated and stopping him from pulling out until they were good and done. But Sokka didn’t need to pull out to keep fucking Zuko, just changing to a deep grind that stretched out Zuko in all the right ways and still stroked his sweet spot on every hard thrust inside.

And Zuko, Zuko melted, a white hot puddle of candy-boned bliss moaning into the bed as his alpha pounded his brains out through his pussy. It was complete heaven, more than Zuko ever deserved, and now Sokka was licking at the scent gland on the back of his neck like he was getting ready to bite down and Zuko knew the moment Sokka did he would come harder than he ever had in his  _ life _ .

“Do it,” Zuko begged, hips rocking back into Sokka’s encouragingly to try and swallow up more of his cock, no matter how deep it already was. “Bite me, Sokka. Make me yours!”

A low growl purred out of Sokka’s throat, and his teeth grazed Zuko’s scent gland, long black hair falling out of his way to spill down Zuko’s shoulders as they jolted on every thrust. And so did the betrothal necklace, swinging to hit Zuko’s bare chest as they took their carnal please from one another, the cool stone a constant reminder of their commitment softly striking his skin.

The chain of the necklace even caught in Sokka’s teeth as he finally bit down, jaw clamping around the tender flesh of Zuko’s neck as he bit intentionally right on Zuko’s scent gland, hard enough to draw blood.

Zuko didn’t mean to cry out but a howl is torn from his throat anyway, smoke pouring out of his mouth and sparks burning tiny scorch marks into the pillow under his head. The pain from the bite is completely drown out by his pleasure, an overwhelming tidal wave of sensation that’s more than just from his head to his toes, he feels it all the way down to every cell in his body, an intense all consuming wave of pure ecstasy that makes his vision white out.

When his vision cleared up and reality settled back into his body Sokka was still rutting into him, teeth still clamped around Zuko’s neck. Zuko groaned, worn out and overwhelmed with pleasure, cunt throbbing around Sokka’s cock in the remains of the orgasm that Sokka had just pulled out of him.

Another growl rumbled out of Sokka’s chest and his hips finally slowed down, and a flood of come spilled into Zuko’s waiting body, wave after wave of it filling Zuko up impossibly, wonderfully  _ full _ . 

They stayed joined like that for god knew how long, long after Sokka’s knot went down and they could have separated. Eventually though Sokka did slip out, though he only went as far as rolling over to pull Zuko into his arms, cuddling on together on the bed and letting themselves catch their breath as they came down from the high of their union.

“I can already smell it,” Sokka mumbled into his neck eventually. “Your scent changing, I mean.”

“Mm,” Zuko agreed, skin still tingling everywhere on his body. “I can already feel it, too.”

Could already feel the connection to Sokka, to his scent, could already feel the way he never wanted to be too far away from that wonderful scent again. Could feel his body chemistry changing, aligning itself to his alpha’s, and knew that no matter how far apart they’d be separated from now on they’d always be with each other.

Sokka was his alpha, now and forever. It sounded almost scary when one put it like that, but at the same time even more so, it was comforting. Zuko wanted to be his omega, wanted to be his mate, wanted to feel that connection to the man who he would someday call his husband. The pain on the back of neck was a welcome reminder of that union, and Zuko wouldn’t give it up for the world.

Next to him, Sokka purred out a loud snore, and Zuko realized only now that he’d fallen asleep at all. 

He laughed. That was alright. He wouldn’t give this up for the world, either.

—

—

“Are you sure he’s supposed to be back today?” Zuko scowled as he paced the room, looking at where the sun was starting to get low on the horizon. “At this rate he’s already going to miss dinner, if he even comes back at all.”

“I am sure he was just delayed,” Iroh said gently, placing a hand on Zuko’s shoulder to lead him back into sitting down. “Even the fastest ship in the navy can be slowed down by the ocean’s merest whims. I assure you, nephew, he will be back as soon as the tides allow.”

Zuko didn’t let himself be calmed by the words. “If he was going to be late he should have sent back a message. I don’t keep buying him all these damned messenger hawks just so he can name them and call them pretty!”

Iroh forced some tea on him - non caffeinated of course - staying within reach of Zuko like he had been ever since Sokka left for the Southern Water Tribe over two months ago. Not that Zuko didn’t understand why - he hardly wanted to be alone right now himself, and Iroh’s company had been invaluable lately.

After all, no one wanted to go through their first pregnancy all by themselves.

Zuko’s hand rested on his swollen stomach, visible now even through the loose fabric of his robes. It hadn’t been nearly this big when Sokka had left, and he was excited to see his husband’s reaction to their growing child.

And in his other hand he fiddled nervously with a single silver button, one he’d had for nearly five years now. He’d had it ever since the first time Sokka left the palace after he married Zuko, a gift he’d given Zuko upon his return home. 

It had been an accident of course. Sokka had tried to bring back an entire jacket for him, straight from the northern water tribes finest tailors. But he’d taken one of his stupid expiramental Non-war balloons up there on a test drive, and while they’d survived the entire trip up there on the way back there ahd been a small explosion and apparently the result was that Sokka could only salvage a single silver button from the coat he’d been planning to give to Zuko.

That was the button he had in his pockets most of the time. The rest of the buttons Zuko had waiting in a box in his bedroom? That was because it had become a ritual for the two of them. The first button had been an accident. The second button, a joke, a fake present to go along with the real tea set he’d brought back from Ba Sing Se. The third button had been because Sokka had noticed how lovingly Zuko had cherished the first two.

So now, every time Sokka left their home in the Fire Nation, whether it be on official Ambassador Business to the Water Tribes, or to help Toph or Suki or King Kuei in the Earth Kingdom, or to the old Northern Air Temple to visit his mechanist friend and the refugees, he always brought home new button from wherever he went to add to Zuko’s growing collection.

He brought home other things, too. Sokka liked filling up their bedroom with knick-knacks from their travels, maps and vases that briefly held flowers and knives to hangs on their walls, all sorts of beautiful or practical or sometimes completely useless things. But no matter what he brought home the button was always Zuko’s favorite, because to him it represented a promise that Sokka would always come home to him, always carrying a single button for his troubles.

There was a knock on the doors to his office, and Before En Zhu could announce whoever was outside the doors were bursting open.

“Zuko!” Sokka was bellowing, striding forward to meet Zuko who was fumbling to heft himself out of his chair to meet his mate. “Zuko, there you are! I missed you so much, you have no idea how hard it was to be away from you!”

“I really do,” Zuko promised, as Sokka embraced him in a hug. “You weren’t the one who was pregnant without his mate around.”

“You're right,” Sokka said, pulling back from the hug to look in Zuko’s eyes. “And for that I’m so, so damned sorry. I swear I wanted to be here with you for every second of it, babe.”

Zuko didn’t pout, but he kind of wanted to. “Did you at least bring Katara with you?” 

Sokka bit his lip, shaking his head. “She’d already left by the time I got there.”

“Oh, for the love of-“

“But!” Sokka interrupted. “My hawk Featherface DID catch up to her! She sent a message back saying she and Aang will come to the Fire Nation as soon as they can. They’ll be here in a few weeks, and along with the Fire Nation’s best doctors you’ll also have the Water Tribe’s best waterbending healer. We have the best help on hand, which is almost wasteful because nothing's going to go wrong to begin with.”

Zuko sighed in relief, and allowed Sokka to kiss him hello. Sokka’s hands rested on his belly, and when they pulled apart again Sokka stared down in wonder at the swollen stomach resting in his hands. 

“You got so big while I was away,” Sokka said awe, “I can’t believe I missed so much. How have you been? Feeling sick still?”

“Just lonely,” Zuko smiled. “Now I think you owe me something.”

Sokka laughed, reaching into his own pocket to pull out a cylindrical white loop button and place it in Zuko’s waiting hand.

“It’s whalebone. When Gran-Gran saw me looking around the tent for a spare button, she gave me one off her own coat.”

Zuko’s fingers curled around it, and he laughed. “I’m sorry I won’t be able to make it down and see her again before the baby is due,” he told Sokka. “I’d love to get her advice before the baby is due.”

“She almost climbed onto the ship with me to come see you,” Sokka laughed. “Only Pakku and her bad hip stopped her from barreling her way onboard to join me.”

“Maybe you should have let her,” Iroh chimed in with a laugh of his own, reminding the two love birds that he was still in fact in the room. “I’m sure she’d much rather be here, watching the birth of her great grandchild than at home waiting for news.”

“It’s not even safe for her to travel!” Sokka argued back. “Do you really wanna subject someone that old to the Fire Nation in summertime? Even I almost get heat stroke every August!” 

“But you have the constitution of a snowman.” Zuko and Iroh both laughed at him for that, which Sokka didn’t find nearly as hilarious.

“Maybe after she’s born we’ll go to the South Pole,” Zuko promised, reaching out grab Sokka’s hand where it still rested on Zuko’s belly. 

“She?” Sokka asked. “Did the doctors tell you it was a girl.”

“No,” Zuko shook his head. “I’ve just been… I dunno it’s just a feeling I’ve got. And it was starting to get weird thinking of our baby as an ‘it’”

“She,” Sokka repeated, looking down at Zuko’s stomach. “I can’t wait. And I promise,” he said looking back up into Zuko’s eyes. “I’m not leaving again. Not until after she’s born, not until after she’s… not until after she can say my name. I swear it.”

Zuko laughed. “It’ll take her years to be able to say your name right. Even I’ll have to take trips out of the Fire Nation by that time.”

“Well, that’s not gonna stop me from trying,” Sokka swore. “I don’t wanna miss anything ever again.”

He would miss things in the future, little moments like long nights of crying to big moments like losing her first tooth. But he’d always come home, and that was the important part. It was something he’d experienced and something he knew, deep in Zuko’s battered little heart.

Sokka would always come home to him.


End file.
